Assorted items
Pension Systems - I've written in the past about the pending crisis that will likely hit our state, county and municipal pension systems. I think this will be a bigger crisis than today's housing crisis. Because, unlike the housing crisis, which is hitting select communities in a few states, the pension crisis will likely touch nearly every community, in every county, in every state in the union.
In general, the pensions, set aside for the wave of public employees set to retire, are woefully underfunded. As a result, states, counties and communities will have to come up with new tax revenue to pay for the pensions. We're likely looking at dramatic increases in sales taxes, property taxes and income taxes to make up the difference. Sadly, these may all hit at the same time. To add to the pain, the recent stock market decline only exacerbates the problem, because much of pension funds are invested in the falling stock market. CALPERS (CALifornia Public Employees Retirement System) is one of the largest pension funds in the world. With more than $250 billion in assets, they just reported that in the last three months, they've lost over 20% of the value in their already underfunded pension system.
If this were a car wreck, the Dow Jones Industrial Average just stepped on the gas pedal.
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I'm always grateful to readers who submit ideas and suggestions to me. Here's a recent email I received........
Does anybody out there have any memory of the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY during the Carter Administration? Anybody? Anything? No? Didn't think so.
Bottom line . . we've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember. Ready? It was very simple, and at the time everybody thought it very appropriate. The Department of Energy (located appropriately at 1000 Independence Ave ) was instituted 8-04-1977 TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL. HEY, PRETTY EFFICIENT, HUH?
AND NOW IT'S 2008, 31 YEARS LATER, AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS NECESSARY DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR, THEY HAVE 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, AND APPROXIMATElY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES AND LOOK AT THE JOB THEY HAVE DONE!
THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY 'WHAT WAS I THINKING?'
THINK BEFORE YOU VOTE !
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In general, the pensions, set aside for the wave of public employees set to retire, are woefully underfunded. As a result, states, counties and communities will have to come up with new tax revenue to pay for the pensions. We're likely looking at dramatic increases in sales taxes, property taxes and income taxes to make up the difference. Sadly, these may all hit at the same time. To add to the pain, the recent stock market decline only exacerbates the problem, because much of pension funds are invested in the falling stock market. CALPERS (CALifornia Public Employees Retirement System) is one of the largest pension funds in the world. With more than $250 billion in assets, they just reported that in the last three months, they've lost over 20% of the value in their already underfunded pension system.
If this were a car wreck, the Dow Jones Industrial Average just stepped on the gas pedal.
----------------------------------------------------
I'm always grateful to readers who submit ideas and suggestions to me. Here's a recent email I received........
Does anybody out there have any memory of the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY during the Carter Administration? Anybody? Anything? No? Didn't think so.
Bottom line . . we've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember. Ready? It was very simple, and at the time everybody thought it very appropriate. The Department of Energy (located appropriately at 1000 Independence Ave ) was instituted 8-04-1977 TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL. HEY, PRETTY EFFICIENT, HUH?
AND NOW IT'S 2008, 31 YEARS LATER, AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS NECESSARY DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR, THEY HAVE 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, AND APPROXIMATElY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES AND LOOK AT THE JOB THEY HAVE DONE!
THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY 'WHAT WAS I THINKING?'
THINK BEFORE YOU VOTE !
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