The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.
Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch
My Greatest Hits: March 2015
- Miscellany: 2/21/15
- Miscellany: 3/11/15
- Was Jesus a "Progressive"? NO
- Miscellany: 2/28/15
- Talking Point: Rudy Giuliani On Whether Obama Loves America
(Cato Institute). "Like the claim that we can’t expect school performance to improve until we end poverty (good luck), the claim that we can’t expand school choice until we “fully fund” district schools is not an argument so much as an excuse."
The problem with Illinois is the public school monopoly; the first step to a solution is to restore competition, enabling lower-income parents a viable choice in educational opportunity for their kids (public, private, homeschooling). The local public schools could be reformed by restoring local autonomy of teachers and administrators and demanding accountability, including the ability to terminate mediocre teachers.
(IPI). In 2011, Illinois’ unfunded pension debt was $82.9 billion. Today, it exceeds $111 billion. Read more: http://illin.is/1Gs2drs
Dont do either. These statistics are inflated and based on if everyone in the system were to retire tomorrow simply to get people all fired up.
The fascist OP is not only economically illiterate; he likes to hear himself spout off absolute rubbish. No, what has killed the economy is not expanded trade, which has actually helped consumers stretch dollars, but parasitic government run amok and an intolerable $1.8T regulatory burden, anti-investment tax rates, etc.
(IPI). In 2013, Illinois’ state-government benefits were $24,524 per job, which is 120% above the private-sector benefits of $11,155 per job. Read more: http://illin.is/1K7V2HF
You speak with such authority on this.. How do you know?
Where do you start with a discussion on government worker productivity? Many government positions have zero worth to the economy, and even in a labor-intensive occupation, many of the teacher unions (surprise, surprise) are for LOWER class sizes. If you look a the dysfunctional USPS, nearly three-quarters of the local branches lose money, but there are union restrictions against using part-time, contract workers, etc. The termination rates are negligible compared to the private sector, the quit rates are lower, the wait lists are longer, the collective bargaining rules often tie managers' hands: Gov. Walker made a point out of that, noting some marginally skilled positions like bus drivers sometimes pulled into six-figures with overtime pay et al. For a good discussion, including the debunking of a study often cited by "progressives", see http://reason.org/.../public-sector-private-sector-salary
(IPI). Since 2009, taxpayer contributions to police and fire pensions in Springfield have increased by 44%.
How about making the entities have a real actuary do the pensions. There is nothing in the state law that says they have to have a real actuary. In 2008 many pension funds took hard hits due to the economy and add that a lot of those also were underfunded to begin with only made the problem worse. Once again if your post something please take the extra time to post all the information not just what you want to do that you can continue to spread the hate and misinformation.
You are in a state of denial. The problem has been known for DECADES. It's an outflow (overly generous benefits) problem in combination with chronic underfunding by both employers and employees--with a rapidly aging workforce plus a longer-living retiree base. I have repeatedly pointed out that the average recipient puts in only 20 months worth of funding. Assuming a state match, that doesn't even cover 4 years of retirement. There is no such investment magic that will turn that into a million dollar-plus cashflow. States for years have gotten by with liberal, unrealistic investment returns, twice the rate as private companies. (More conservative investment assumptions in the private sector means the employer has to kick in more.) By the rule of 72, you would need 9 years of 8% returns to double--and really, actuaries will tell you you need better than 100% funding taking into account recessions.
No, the issue isn't the 2008 correction (there was also a severe correction starting with the Internet economy bubble). The problem has to do with an increasing retiree/active worker ratio, the same reason businesses started transitioning to defined contribution plans DECADES ago. None of the state pension funds are where they need to be, but Illinois is trailing the rest of the states.
As I recall, there have been unsuccessful lawsuits to try to force the Illinois legislature to kick in more precisely because of fears of what is now happening.
Proposal
Parent-Child Reunions
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists
Carly Simon, "Give Me All Night"
