uhh, phaster, nice try but if you think this bleached whale “people-of-Walmart” couple you depicted here watching an implosion from their (polluted backyard?) in rural Nevada are representative of SD City and County retired workers, you need to see your eye doctor, pronto.
For the most part, we are fitter and trimmer than the Gen Y college-student set who comes back “home” for the holidays to work out at the gym we work out in all year-round!
And the only reason we can exist (or co-exist with a side gig) on our paltry city/county pensions is because our living expenses are relatively low in comparison to the “worker bee” currently raising a family. The COL is lowest for those older (WWII gen) members who retired prior to 2002 and thus purchased their current residences well below $100K.
Contrary to popular belief, SD city/county retirees don’t live lavish lifestyles on “golden pensions,” people …. NO, not even former sworn staff with more generous “Class C” retirements. We live in neighborhoods and houses most of you worker bees wouldn’t even bother getting off the freeway to look at in PAID FOR houses (or nearly so).[/quote]
Very true, BG. You can tell who gets all their news from the UT and Fox when they start talking about the “lavish” pensions. LOL!
And, Phaster, the CDO problem, along with any related derivatives, isn’t a result of what public employees are doing. That’s a problem that is created by the financial industry. Focus your righteous indignation in the right direction. “The Big Short” should have opened your eyes regarding the real perpetrators behind our economic collapse and the booms and busts that have caused most of the problems in the DB world.
If you’re really ticked off about taxpayers having to subsidize the lifestyles of others, then you should direct your anger squarely at Prop 13, as well — and that tax expenditure was never earned while pensions are deferred compensation for work already performed. Prop 13 is a HUGE tax subsidy, often to very wealthy people, which dwarfs California’s “pension crisis.” If we want to fix our fiscal house, we need to get rid of Prop 13 first (except for a single primary residence); then, we can see where we stand WRT other expenditures.
