CA pensions may be 5X tax revenues in TWO YEARS?!

[Daisy]

EXACTLY!:iagree:

 

The California politicians have clearly shown that they are poor money managers. If our taxes are raised, what reason to we have to believe that they would fix anything? The safer bet is that they would waste even more money.

 

They need a Dave Ramsey class to learn how to live within their means and sock some away.;)

 

:iagree:

[Daisy]

Wow, I had no idea different states did that differently. I had no idea they COULD do it differently. I wonder how they manage to do that legally (curiosity)? Does anyone know? I thought pretty much everyone had to pay in. If I could get out of it, I definitely would. I've never been a fan of social security! Let me invest my own money...

 

The problem is that you don't get to invest your money. What you would have paid into ss gets funneled into your state-mandated and state-run retirement contributions. But then add more because they make you put in way more than ss does. If you have a state that does the honorable thing, I can see it being a HUGE plus. Unfortunately, CA will never fall into the honorable category.

[Daisy]

You know, I don't care if we get rid of pensions and unions and all that stuff.

 

But I'll tell you one thing right now, I want every single penny back of what we paid into that account. Every dime.

 

Now here's the big question. Can CA even AFFORD to do that? Do they even have the money to pay back those people who have paid into their retirement for years?

 

Yeah, I didn't think so.

[tex-mex]

How in the world does repealing Prop 13 fix a PENSION problem??? It would just make it easier for the pols to raise our taxes as high and as often as they wanted to, in order to pay for all kinds of flim-flam, not just these Cadillac pensions.

 

It would actually be more effective to bite the bullet and do two things -- 1) renegotiate these pension agreements to something more realistic, and 2) prohibit public employees from unionizing. Time to get the fox out of the henhouse.

 

**I am speaking as a native Californian. I love CA -- but having grown up and working for it as a former schoolteacher -- I don't know how any of these $$$ will solve itself.**

 

Prop 13 was created back in the late 70's as a grassroots efforts to stop high mortgage taxes. Personally, I grew up with one of the famous lobbyists who helped get the vote. Once it was enacted, there was a huge change in CA. As a student and teacher, I noted that there was no more "frills" in the classroom (i.e. regular field trips, art/pe classes, budget for teachers, etc.). I knew however, that despite some budget cuts being done as a result of Prop 13 in city/state matters -- the one thing not touched were pensions. CA was well known for having its retirees live on really good pensions. (My FIL being a prime example as a former CA Fire Chief.)

 

But Prop 13 also has its drawbacks. Revenue doesn't come in for city/state levels as it does for other states. Mix this along with other disasterous fiscal $$ choices the state has made... and you pretty much have a "credit card" charged up to the max mentality (spend $$ without any consequences since the 80's) without any thought to who is going to be paying the bill. This concern was voiced even when I was a schoolteacher in CA back in the 80's and 90's.

 

Yes, I knew my STRS pension was good -- but even back then I knew my pension counted on being INVESTED wisely by the state. If they made a boneheaded move, my funds would tank. Duh. That is what is going on with CA state retirement funds. They were invested in some of the AAA bonds (from the housing crisis, remember?) that now are showing itself to be fraudulent. (But that is a whole different kettle of fish -- the banking industry and deregulation going back to Reagan/80's and such.) STRS, PERS, and others lost $$$. CA doesn't have a way to get it back -- they are flat broke. Some folks are waking up to a harsh reality that retirement funds are not going to be there if CA is sinking.

 

Gov. Schwartznegger (tho' I am not crazy 'bout him) had a great idea to get the budget in order -- but was powerless to do so by the legislature and senate. So, CA continued to slide downhill. I know Prop 13 would never pass by the population's vote realistically. But from a budget overhall, it may be a band-aid to solve all of these other issues. Not a popular thought, but there -- I said it.

[creekland]

The problem is that you don't get to invest your money. What you would have paid into ss gets funneled into your state-mandated and state-run retirement contributions. But then add more because they make you put in way more than ss does. If you have a state that does the honorable thing, I can see it being a HUGE plus. Unfortunately, CA will never fall into the honorable category.

 

Yeah, I figured that out from what others said afterward. I want a privatized ss so I can keep my money or leave it to my offspring. I wouldn't want a state plan any more than I want ss. Someday maybe it will happen. Meanwhile we keep paying in what we will likely never get back (sigh).

[Daisy]

Yeah, I figured that out from what others said afterward. I want a privatized ss so I can keep my money or leave it to my offspring. I wouldn't want a state plan any more than I want ss. Someday maybe it will happen. Meanwhile we keep paying in what we will likely never get back (sigh).

 

:iagree:

[ahousefullofjs]

Let me tell you, it's VERY scary living in California these days. On a personal note, my dh's school district is on the verge of bankruptcy. Really, the entire state is a mess, and I don't know how they'll ever fix it.

:iagree:

Yes, this.

 

Our property taxes are plenty high with prop 13, thank you very much.

:iagree:

And this.