Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: i-node who wrote (824356)	12/21/2014 2:02:40 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1577381

I funded my 401, as well as my SS, every 2 weeks. So did my boss.

To: i-node who wrote (824356)	5/12/2015 5:24:15 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 1577381

Government Of, By, and For State Employees May 11, 2015, 11:53 am I am not a legal expert, so I can't say if the court ruling in Illinois that struck down (modest) pension reforms is a good one or not. The author at the link seems pretty angry at the judges, but I am not sure their decision was unreasonable given the language of the state Constitution. The root-cause problem seems to be this provision of the state Constitution “Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.” This is government of, by, and for state employees. Pension benefits can never be lower than they are right now, so there is always a ratchet effect. One mayor caves to a stupid contract, and we are all stuck with it for life. I am pretty dang certain their constitution has no similar provision protecting, say, taxpayers. Can you imagine a ratchet in the constitution that says that tax rates can never be higher than they are today? We actually need this disaster to drag out for a while until after Obama is out of office. A federal bailout request is coming soon (you don't think any of the participants expect to pay for this mess themselves, do you?) and Obama is incredibly likely to shovel them as much cash as they ask for. 16 comments ... esoxlucius • a day ago Illinoian here. The Supreme Court made the only call it could. The constitution is very clear. It doesn't mean I like it but you do have to respect judges who don't bend the law just because we wrote some really stupid stuff into law back in 1970. There are 3 ways out of this mess. Bankruptcy, MUCH higher taxes, or change the constitution. The much higher taxes will speed up the mass exodus which leaves bankruptcy as the more viable option. Also, as a former village trustee I can tell you our police pension is currently 42% funded even though we made every payment the state actuary demanded. joe esoxlucius • 9 hours ago esoxlucius "Illinoian here. The Supreme Court made the only call it could. The constitution is very clear." Yes and no - No question that state constitution prohibited the reduction of pension benefits for pension benefits earned for services already rendered. The court incorrectly ruled that the prohibition on the reduction of pension benefits extended to future pension benefits to be earned for future services to be rendered. ... coyoteblog.com