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"Don't Blame Pension Wes on Unions" (any my response)
Sacramento Bee ^ | Aug 20, 2010 | Sanford M. Jacoby

Posted on 08/20/2010 5:25:44 PM PDT by Rusty0604

For those lacking a traditional pension, the best solution I've heard comes from economist Teresa Ghilarducci of the New School. She envisions a mandatory system of guaranteed retirement accounts run by the Social Security Administration. Workers would put 5 percent of their earnings into these accounts, the government would invest it in the private sector, and there would be a guaranteed inflation-adjusted return on each account of 3 percent annually

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/20/2970854/dont-blame-pension-woes-on-unions.html#ixzz0xC9NY8Gu

(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: 401k; pensions; retirement
My response to Mr. Jacoby sanford.jacoby@anderson.ucla.edu Dear Mr. Jacoby, professor of management and public policy at UCLA,

I just read your viewpoint "Don't blame pension woes on unions" in the Sacramento Bee. While you claim to back up your viewpoint with facts, I believe that you manipulated a few facts, threw in a few numbers for good measure and foolishly thought mere taxpayers like me wouldn't notice.

'12,000 private sector (heavily nonunion) companies terminated their plans because they were unable to meet their obligation.' Well Mr. Jacoby, those darned old mathematics get in the way, don't they? The difference is private sector companies have to make a profit to honor their liabilities and public sector plans assume unlimited legal extortion from the taxpayers to honor theirs.

You state that 401(K) plans fared worse than pension plans during the recent crash, "although they've been a terrific moneymaker for the financial industry". Then you go on to describe how the stock market crash "walloped public and corporate pension plans" and that these plans " invested excessively in exotic products". I have two questions for you Mr. Jacoby. If both plans lost money during the crash for the same reasons, why did you just throw in the little populist "moneymaker for the financial industry"bone as applicable only to the 401(K)s? Is it not true that the reason you state the the 401(K)s fared worse is because the participants have to live off of the true balance in their account and the pension plan participants cling to the promises of guaranteed payouts that are not mathematically calculated by realistic assumptions but are just promises made to them by union leaders, politicians and employers? Even a lowly non elite taxpayer like me can figure that out.

So, Mr. Jacoby, I am going to give you and Miss Teresa Ghilarducci the benefit of the doubt and and say that you have no understanding of finance, mathematics or the concept of a free people that can save money that they earned and be able to live and spend it as they wish. Otherwise, I would have to say that you recognize guaranteed pension plans and social security for the ponzi schemes that they are, and you would wish to extort the money that people haved saved on their own to to dump into these schemes and hopefully keep them going long enough that you are long gone and forgotton before it all comes crashing down.

Guaranteed by the Social Security Administration? Really?

1 posted on 08/20/2010 5:25:49 PM PDT by Rusty0604
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To: Rusty0604

But you want the AMERICAN PEOPLE to pay for those FAILED pensions too huh, Jacoby...idiot? =.=


2 posted on 08/20/2010 5:27:43 PM PDT by cranked
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To: Rusty0604
For those lacking a traditional pension, the best solution I've heard comes from economist Teresa Ghilarducci of the New School. She envisions a mandatory system of guaranteed retirement accounts run by the Social Security Administration.

The author conveniently left something out. Ghilarducci is also calling for the government confiscation of all 401K accounts.

3 posted on 08/20/2010 5:33:39 PM PDT by Roccus (......and then there were none.)
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To: cranked

A MANDATORY system of retirement accounts? Sound like communism to me.


4 posted on 08/20/2010 5:40:10 PM PDT by HwyChile
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To: Roccus

That she is. The Department of Labor has an advisory council discussing these issues.

I didn’t check my title out too well for errors!


5 posted on 08/20/2010 5:40:44 PM PDT by Rusty0604
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To: Rusty0604

They have been floating this around for a few years. Congressman George Miller is in on it along with some others.


6 posted on 08/20/2010 5:43:32 PM PDT by Rusty0604
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To: Rusty0604
Guarenteed by the Social Security Administration. Really?

With Social Security and most annuities, when the person dies no money goes back to the estate, even if only a small percentage or none of the money was paid out before the person dies. This seems like a federal money grab to me, if it follows Social Security rules.

Another way to look at it is a way to prop up the stock market and/or keep the interest rates low if people don't get to manage their own finances.

7 posted on 08/20/2010 6:03:23 PM PDT by grania ("Won't get fooled again")
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To: Rusty0604

It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sick. SS is joke and a scam. Imam Obama has passed the first Jizya tax on non-muslims with ObamaCare.

He is going after retirement plans next.

How about those pension plans (some for unions) holding GM and Chrsyler Bonds that were effectively wiped out to give everything to the union?


8 posted on 08/20/2010 6:20:33 PM PDT by Frantzie (Imam Ob*m* & Democrats support the VICTORY MOSQUE & TV supports Imam)
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To: HwyChile
A MANDATORY system of retirement accounts? Sound like communism to me.

It's mandatory because they intend to confiscate your retirement money and funnel it to leftist politicians and voting blocs. They did the same thing in Argentina a few years ago.

In my opinion, this would be grounds for lengthy, painful, gruesome public torture and subsequent slaughter of any politicians voting for it. Some political crimes cannot be forgiven.

9 posted on 08/20/2010 7:31:01 PM PDT by ccmay (Too much Law; not enough Order)
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