Expose the Public Pension Mess

December 17, 2010 05:58


A recent estimate put these unfunded public employee pension liabilities at as much as $3.574 trillion.  As frightening as that estimate is, it is probably unrealistically low.

By Gary Jason at American Thinker

EXCERPTS:

It seems that many members of the incoming Congress are mindful of the looming tsunami of unfunded state and municipal worker pension liabilities, not to mention the impending insolvency of cities and even states (such as California, Illinois, and New York).

After all, these liabilities are entirely the result of boundless public employee union greed — greed unchecked by city and state political figures, because those politicians are elected with union money.

An exemplary bill introduced by Reps. Devin Nunes (R-CA), Paul Ryan (R-WI), and Darrell Issa (R-CA) would take away the federal tax-exempt status for bonds from any state or municipality that doesn’t report openly its pension-fund liabilities.

Unfortunately, the American public is as yet not generally aware of the vastness of the problem posed by unfunded liabilities created by these lavish pension and health plans. So the Republicans are well-advised to pass legislation that will, in the bracing words of Rep. Nunes, “smoke the rats out of their holes” — i.e., make these hidden liabilities visible.

FULL ARTICLE



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