How many private sector job holders here on Piggington receive a pension? I have been in the engineering field over 25 years now. Can you show me examples of telecom companies with pension plans for regular salaried engineers? You make it sound like it is a regular thing so I am curious to hear about all these companies.
It is odd to me that you are so far off the mark here. You are making an implication that once upon a time there was a utopia that existed and somehow it was all taken away because of Wall Street. I am not denying wrongdoing buy Wall Street.
So tell me…. when did your utopia exist? When did the state provide all these services, pensions, free higher education for people who were not citizens, welfare and social services, and all of this was 100% supplied by taxpayers.
When was this again?
Nobody needs to be punished. However why can’t we all be on the same playing field? Why can’t all workers public or private simply donate to a 401k?
Is that such a crime?[/quote]
I never claimed that the govt paid for the pensions of private sector workers. Private companies did that on their own (often backed by the PBGC).
You should know by now that I do NOT advocate for taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants. Not because I don’t feel for them, but because it’s not sustainable. Generous social programs are not compatible with porous borders. Since I’m an ardent supporter of social safety nets, socialized medicine, etc., I’m opposed to providing benefits to non-citizens and their children if they aren’t required to pay to enter the system (like many other countries with social safety nets require), especially for those who are not legal residents.
You should also know by now that I do not think Joe Sixpack, the taxpayer, should have to make up for the losses incurred as a result of Wall Street/Fed speculative gambles. I think those in the financial sector — especially those who were very high up in the chain of command during the bubble and knew precisely what they were doing — should lose EVERYTHING (and then some) before taxpayers or public employees take any hits.
The reason I don’t like DC pension plans is because most people are clueless when it comes to finance and would end up destitute if we had to rely 100% on private accounts (no DB pension plans should also mean no Social Security — they are the very same thing, just under different names). We can’t all know everything about every topic. Most of us have very narrow, specialized skills/knowledge. Most of us here on Piggington have an above-average understanding of finance/economics, and even we can’t get it right all of the time. How many here — most of whom have well above-average incomes and financial knowledge — have a fully-funded retirement plan that will comfortably take them through old age without SS or Medicare? If most Piggs can’t do it, how do you expect Joe Sixpack to do it? What do you recommend we do with these people when they are in their 60s, broke, unemployable, and sick? Should we just let them die on the streets? They aren’t going to simply vaporize into thin air because they were unlucky or have a below-average intellect/understanding WRT investing. What do you propose as a solution?
As far as retirement/healthcare benefit trends in the private sector, check out the following charts:
“Retirement Trends in the United States Over the Past Quarter-Century
The vast majority of private-sector working-age Americans who have retirement and
health benefits obtain them through their jobs. Since 1980, significant changes have occurred in
the kind of employment-based retirement plan that workers participate in: Defined benefit (socalled
“traditional” pension) plans have declined (reflecting pressures on defined benefit plan
sponsors to control costs and funding volatility, in addition to increased regulatory burdens),
while defined contribution (401(k)-type) plans have grown. The following figures give a quick
overview of the changing trends in retirement plan coverage among American workers.
