Bloomberg reports that Congress has included a provision in the annual spending bill that could hurt people who receive pensions. The new law could impact as many as 1.5 million retirees and result in benefit reductions by as much as 50%. The reason, as always, is that the funds will not be able to pay promised benefits. The report does not examine why this problem exists.
Pensions were supposed to be funded and relatively secure. A loss of 50% sounds like the exact opposite of security. What happened to the money that workers invested? What happened to the employers’ contribution, which was supposed to be part of the employees’ compensation? Rather than investigate the problem and fix it, our good representatives in DC are do what they do best: Screwing working people.
Postscript: I’ve heard radio reports today saying that some “liberal” Democrats and union officials support the new law because getting half a pension is better than getting no pension. I wonder how legislators would feel if their pensions were cut, especially the double dippers who make $150,000 or more a year. Why are so many people disgusted with politics? This story is one good reason, especially when it comes with a bill that promised to backstop risky investments by our too big to fail banks. The investor class is protected. The working class — let them eat . . . whatever they can find in a dumpster.
Career Calling 