Is the Dallas Police and Fire Pension Crisis the Canary in a National Coal Mine?

[TexasTowelie]

If you follow Dallas politics at all, the scope and scale of the impending Dallas Police and Fire Pension Crisis has probably sunk in by now. Even if you don’t quite grasp the finer details of the problem and the various plans to fix it, it is easy to see that the pension situation threatens to leave Dallas in a very precarious financial position.

This city is already struggling to keep its streets from degrading even further than they already are, and has a huge inventory of general maintenance and repair needs, plenty of underfunded or mismanaged departments, and a litany of other problems and issues. Thanks to the pension, Dallas could find itself in an even deeper financial hole if it is on the hook for contributing 34.5% of computation pay plus $11 million per year towards the pension, which is what State Rep. Dan Flynn’s remedy for the crises proposes.

The word “bankruptcy” has been floated around. But even if it doesn’t come to that, a severe tightening of the municipal belt buckle could impact even the basic services we take for granted.

That’s the scary news for Dallas. Perhaps what’s scarier is that Dallas isn’t alone.

Read more: https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2017/03/is-the-dallas-police-and-fire-pension-crisis-the-canary-in-a-national-coalmine/

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Such pensions have long been underfunded, as in for decades now

And without doing an internet search, I'm pretty sure that pensions have been reduced in more than one municipality.

The systematic underfunding of the pensions is criminal.

[PsychoBabble]

2. I drove through Texas ...

A couple of years ago. I was shocked at the horrendous condition of the roads. My immediate thought was this is what happens to a country that collects no taxes.

It felt almost third world to me.

Did I mention that I was in a major city, on access roads to an Interstate?

TX, and other red states, is killing itself w the anti-tax small government thing.

[TexasTowelie]

3. It is such a shame that you saw that.

In the past Texas took great pride in the condition of its highways. I have a friend that is an engineer with the highway department that bragged about the condition of Texas highways compared to other states. I don't travel much, but compared to New Mexico and Louisiana the highways were much better.

Unfortunately, Houston is experiencing the same conditions as Dallas regarding their pension systems. The fact that governments have cut their annual contributions with the thought that somehow those liabilities would disappear is neglectful, and in some cases, criminal. The taxpayers will pay for such shortsightedness.

[Warpy]

4. You're making me glad I haven't had to drive I-40 since 2003

It wasn't a bad road once you got over the Mississippi, although you did hit some rough pavement at OKC and Amarillo.

I imagine that rough pavement has gotten much, much worse in the last 13 years.

Taxpayers are going to have to make a choice and soon: a bloated military that seems to have no end in sight for its appetite for our taxes -- or everything else.