General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 401Ks are a disaster: Column [View all]Gidney N Cloyd
(19,818 posts)Pension funds are short because contracted-for contributions the state was supposed to make to the funds weren't made. Instead the gov't re-directed that earmarked money to general funds so they wouldn't need to raise taxes on everyone. In almost every case like this, the actuaries looked over the contract numbers, the unions and employers agreed the numbers were workable, and it looked like a win-win. After that, the workers paid in their share but the governments put off paying their shares.
So to turn around now and imply it's the workers' fault we're in this mess is to ignore the real theft that's taken place. Governments needed to raise taxes to meet general obligations like roads and schools years ago but because that would have angered tax payers they instead skipped payments to the pensions. Now the bills are coming due and there's only one way to pay them: raise the taxes they should have raised in the first place. Otherwise you're picking the pockets of the pensioners to save everyone the real cost of running the government.