Posted on 12/13/2011 12:22:25 PM PST by SmithL
California's three largest pension systems have promised $500 billion beyond their current ability to make those payments to retirees, according to a study released to today by Stanford University Professor and former Democratic Assemblyman Joe Nation and a student researcher.
The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research issued the report, documenting what it claims is the state's deepening pension crisis. California Common Sense, an organization dedicated to engaging the public in "data-driven discourse" is also behind the report.
Among the report's findings for CalPERS, CalSTRS and the University of California Retirement Plan:
Using a "risk-free" or low-risk discount rate -- a method that is debated when experts talk about figuring out a pension system's obligations -- the total unfunded liability for CalPERS, CalSTRS, and the UC system is $498 billion. That's up 17 percent higher than the $425 billion shortfall Stanford estimated in April 2010.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.sacbee.com ...
“Bailout! Bailout!”
“Too big to fail!”
“Grandma - dog-food!”
“Racist, racist!”
And little bammy will wave the magic wand over the printing presses...
.
This occured because Gray Davis and other CA politicians — mostly Dems but some Republicans — simply promised state government pensioners and teachers more and more and more. The promise, so easily made, was them cemented into an “entitlement” protected by the courts and other Lib elements of the government. It is government as a suicide pact. No way to bring government back into balance, even with a majority vote. Its the end result of years of Welfare State government ideology infesting all branches of government. The spending can only go up. It can never come down. A promise of more spending must be kept no matter how insane it is. Its why our whole system probably will collapse into chaos rather than be fixed.
Only one way to fix this. You have to raise taxes on the poor. That’s the only sure way to get money.
500 billion, 500 schmillion....that means absolutely nothing to the brain dead electorate of California. Most people in California, including most college graduates could not tell you if the the total budget for the state of California is closer to $80 million or $80 billion.
“500 billion, 500 schmillion....that means absolutely nothing to the brain dead electorate of California”
The english language needs a word for “inabilty to distinguish magnitude”. It’s epidemic.
It’s a Stanford study so they probably fudged the numbers by -90% so it doesn’t look quite as bad.
Be interesting to see what Berkley would come up with.
Well, I just got my bill from the Fed, $21.00 per employee.
Seems, California can’t pay back the Unemployment Insurance
they borrowed from the Fed. So it’s up to us evil employers to pay it back.
I don't think Congress would go along with that right now, however they might if the next president is a Republican. .
A team of five graduate students prepared this report on the California public employee pensions as part of the graduate Practicum in Public Policy [...] Joe Nation served as the instructor and an advisor for this research team and directs the graduate student Practicum at Stanford University. He teaches climate change, health care policy, and public policy. Nation represented Marin and Sonoma Counties in the State Assembly from 2000-2006.
http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/the_state_worker/100405%20Stanford.htm
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