22-Jan-11 News-Congress discusses allowing state bankruptcy

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John
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22-Jan-11 News-Congress discusses allowing state bankruptcy

Post by John »

22-Jan-11 News -- Congress discusses allowing states to go bankrupt

Korean Navy regains confidence by recapturing hijacked ship from pirates

** 22-Jan-11 News -- Congress discusses allowing states to go bankrupt
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 22#e110122

The Grey Badger
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 11:50 pm

Re: 22-Jan-11 News-Congress discusses allowing state bankrup

Post by The Grey Badger »

Re: North Korean pirates - so they've rediscovered an important principle, have they?

From a fellow Adaptive of the last saeculum, concerning a hapless fellow Adaptive of 1,000 years ago:

IT IS always a temptation to an armed and agile nation,
To call upon a neighbour and to say:
"We invaded you last night - we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away."

And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!

It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say:
"Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away."

And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray,
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say:

"We never pay any one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost,
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!"

at99sy
Posts: 182
Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2008 9:22 am

Re: 22-Jan-11 News-Congress discusses allowing state bankrup

Post by at99sy »

I would take a different view of the pending defaults of states. I'm a a public school teacher in NH. The cadillac pensions, excessive contracts etc..
are a myth in my neck of the woods. I would offer that most states are suffering due to excessive social welfare programs. There is an excess of
unproductive people with their hands out screaming feed me! Clothe me! house me! drive me! educate me! all on the dime of the few who are
still producing. I pay a huge portion of my health insurance, most of my retirement and I have no annuity as a school teacher. My retirement(what there is) will likely be stolen by the state soon. If I do manage to live long enough to retire from teaching, it will be a pathetic amount of compensation for sure.
Salary scales in NH,VT and ME are pathetically low for educators. I love teaching and plan on doing it for quite some time and will
continue to advance my degree since that is the only way to advance my pay right now. Since NH receives most of its revenue from property tax and business taxes, more than half the population gets a free ride. No sales tax, no income tax. Too few providers too many parasites.
There are very few locations where teachers make high salaries. CA, NY, NJ,CT. Beyond these states the wages are appallingly low. I made 40% more in construction than I do now. My insurance was fully paid, retirement fully paid, annuity fully paid.

I have only been teaching for three years and it is fascinating to me that the ignorance of people is so wide spread in regards to public education.
The MSM is spreading the fire on the subject and the average idiot believes that all teachers in all places are receiving stratospheric compensation packages.
It is NOT true! The unions are a pathetic minority representation of the American work force. Most factory jobs pay more than my salary, and all you have to do is sit in a comfy chair and push a button once in awhile.

You must have a better explanation of state wide default than the cop-out of Unions and pensions! Seriously.

sy

Tom Acre
Posts: 94
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 11:48 am

Re: 22-Jan-11 News-Congress discusses allowing state bankrup

Post by Tom Acre »

With all due respect at99sy, you need to take a closer look at this issue. Are entitlements a big part of the problem? Yes. Are state employee salaries, pensions and health benefits a big part of the problem? The answer to that would also be a big YES. As an example I submit this sober analysis from a state near you, Connecticut. http://www.ctmirror.org/story/8679/stat ... 2-year-low

"State's unfunded pension liability hits 22-year high
Keith M. Phaneuf
December 10, 2010
The state's pension fund now holds less than 45 percent of the funds its needs to meet obligations to workers, plunging below the halfway mark for the first time in more than two decades, according to the latest, biennial report from fund analysts.

The actuarial valuation prepared by Cavanaugh Macdonald Consulting of Kennesaw, Ga., also found that while fund investment earnings rebounded over the last year, they could not overcome significant losses from 2009, coupled with various pension-weakening gimmicks ordered to prop up the state budget...
For nearly four decades, state government saved nothing, and therefore gained no investment earnings, to cover pension costs...
"This is another reminder of just how deep a hole our state is in," Malloy said Thursday. "The news is grim, the decisions are tough and the sacrifices will be many in order to get Connecticut's fiscal house in order. But let me be clear: we will get there."

And this is in light of the "gimmicks" the state has used AND the elastic air-filled Potemkin Villages that are our fluffy stock markets. Other much larger states are even in worse shape, e.g. California, Illinois, New York, etc.

at99sy
Posts: 182
Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2008 9:22 am

Re: 22-Jan-11 News-Congress discusses allowing state bankrup

Post by at99sy »

Tom Acre wrote: For nearly four decades, state government saved nothing, and therefore gained no investment earnings, to cover pension costs...
"This is another reminder of just how deep a hole our state is in," Malloy said Thursday. "The news is grim, the decisions are tough and the sacrifices will be many in order to get Connecticut's fiscal house in order. But let me be clear: we will get there."
This is exactly in line with what I am saying. "state government saved nothing, " the states and "THE STATE" seem to have this concept of spend, spend, spend.
No amount of money will ever be enough for any state. What ever they gain they spend. There are no limit to the social programs to cover any revenue windfall.
Pension shortfalls are the states fault. They are no different than a private companys 401-k or any other matching retirement program. If a business fails to cover the matching $$ there are consequences. If a state does it, they blame the unions. I am not a proponent of unions I just think it is a cop out to blame the nations problems on them. The problems we face as a country are far greater than any union influence. If unions were really the problem the Fed's could abolish them in a
nano-second.
"The news is grim" it certainly is. the news is We're F'd.

sy

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