Pigmen coming after our pensions now?

[Subdivisions]

A Proposal to Shore Up Banks With Pension Funds

Financial institutions in the United States probably need hundreds of billions of dollars in additional assistance, and one congressman wants to harness state and local pension funds to help them.

Rather than rely more heavily on the Treasury, which has already put $350 billion in the nation’s banks, Representative Gary L. Ackerman sees an opportunity in the trillions of dollars in public pension funds. Most of the funds suffered giant losses last year in the market turmoil. But they do not need all of their assets immediately, because their time horizon for paying benefits is decades long.

Mr. Ackerman, Democrat of New York, is sponsoring legislation that would allow public pension funds to pool some of their money and use it to create a sole-purpose entity that would buy $50 billion to $250 billion worth of preferred stock in America’s banks. That would strengthen the banks’ balance sheets and, Mr. Ackerman hopes, get them lending again.

“Some of us are getting tired of writing checks with public money” and seeing no results, Mr. Ackerman said. He said pension fund officials who had heard about the measure so far were eager to participate.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/business/economy/10pension.html?_r=4&_r">More from NY Times

Do you know where you pension is?

Is this the "private capital" we've been hearing about?

How long before 401Ks and other retirement vehicles are led to the slaughter to be scrificed?

[county worker]

1. Fund managers try very hard to make sure the funds are there when you retire.

So they try to make wise investment decisions. This would take their decision making authority away and if the funds lose money the employers would have to put in more money.

Not a good idea!

[marketcrazy1]

2. STUPID!! STUPID!! STUPID!!

INSANITY KNOWS NO BOUNDS!!!

[SoCalDem]

3. Our 401-k lost $26K between Sept-Dec..

My husband is quite "mum" about the whole thing, since I had been bugging him since July, to switch everything to the "safe" category... I tried to do it online, but did not have a certain "code number", so I could not set up an online account..I called, and was not allowed to do it, since it was in HIS name..and wouldn;t you know it..he was toooooo BUSY, to pick up the phone..

I bit my tongue almost OFF when we got the next statement...but I could not resist telling him.."Well, that non-phone call cost you your brand new truck".....He's switched it now, but I have a suspicion that even that amount will disappear before much longer:grr:

[MADem]

4. Mr. Ackerman, Democrat of New York.....

Gee, what happens if they use the public pension fund monies to buy the bank stock, and the idiots squander it and the banks go under? What sort of oversight does this guy envision?

Why do I look askance at this? Could it be his comment that "people are tired of writing checks with public money" but he seems all too willing to take the public PENSION money of people who are being compensated for all their years of hard work--I mean, come on, those pensions are, in essence, deferred salary for these people.

Next thing you know, they'll have to start REDUCING the pensions because the bankers swung with the cash....