# Secret Gov. Plan to default on pensions!



## BasecampUSA (Dec 26, 2010)

*Boomers Beware!!*

Check it out...

The NY Times has uncovered a secret Government plan to allow defaults (and non-payment) of pensions.

Is Social Security next?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/business/economy/21bankruptcy.html?_r=3&src=busln

Do you have a good tent yet? - Lotta tent cities will expand soon!

Hope there is a soup & bread line nearby, the church food pantry shelves are empty!

What a dang mess! You pay in all your life and the fatcat bank-crooks get a bailout while you are desperate for the money you had coming to try to survive on!

- Basey


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## BadgeBunny (Nov 2, 2010)

I don't know if it was that much of a secret. I worked for the bankruptcy section of a state agency for several years and even though Oklahoma's pensions were not in trouble (well, except for the teacher's pension and it has NEVER been properly funded) then there was talk back then that some states, like CA and IL were headed for huge problems ...

"They've" seen it coming for many, many years ... but like everything that is controversial in politics, the can just gets kicked down the road until there is no road left to kick it down.

The media and unions are just as bad ... EVERYONE with even a modicum of knowledge about the state and federal pension system couldn't have NOT known this was coming. The problem is that it is NOT the rank and file workers of these pension systems that are causing the problem. I know people who have worked for the State of Oklahoma for 30 years whose pension amounts to right at $1000 a month. Most of them retired from the state to take another full time job somewhere in the private sector just to maintain their lifestyle (which was not extravagant to start with).

Now ... did people ignore the problem and choose to pretend it wasn't there?? Most certainly. And they continue to do so. You cannot rob Paul to pay Peter if Paul doesn't have any more money for you to steal ...


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## wallstwench (Jan 22, 2011)

*Pensions, 401ks, IRAs, and Mutual Funds&#8230;&#8230;ARE ALL DOOMED!*

One town in Alabama has stopped paying their state pension recipients. NJ purposely skipped a $3.1 billion pension payment. Meredith Whitney, a woman that predicted the housing market collapse, went on 60 minutes a few weeks ago warning of municipalities on the verge of collapse. It also talked about how State Troopers in Illinois are being turned away at gas stations due to a maxed out government credit card some are unwilling to accept any more. Then you have Newt Gingrich rallying in Washington to make sure States do not get a helping hand from them if and when they do wave finally the white flag. How is it that our tax dollars can be used to to bail out FOREIGN banks, but not our own states? Our own states that were suckered into gambling pension funds on MBS', CDOs, and CDS, just as AIG, BSC, FNM, and FRE were. The bailout was supposedly absolutely necessary to avoid a catastrophic meltdown with incomprehensible consequences, but isn't this at the very least equally monumental? More than 1/2 of the working force that still have a job in this country either directly or indirectly have that job due to government financing. Or is this just another set up? Are the powers that be going to step in when it looks like the next house of cards is about to collapse? Watch and see. This will be how they get everyone else's retirement money next. States will need a bailout. Accept this bailout will be paid for by nationalizing 401ks, mutual funds, IRAs, and whatever else they can get their hands on. This is what happened in Argentina. It's what they are lobbying for in Ireland. We already saw the movie "Casino" in 2008. Don't watch "Casino Royale" the whole way through. If you wait until this sequel plays out it will be too late.

22 Painful Signs That Austerity Has Arrived In America

State bankruptcy bill imminent, Gingrich says - Yahoo! News


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

I agree with BadgeBunny ... it's not much of a secret and for some that day is here and now. 

I guess a few of the sheep may have their head so far in the sand ... that they have no clue but that is hard to believe... then again...

Oh and I also know I will never see my Social Security ... Just the way I see it ...


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## IrritatedWithUS (Jan 9, 2011)

I'm in my 20's and I just started preparing and saving money up as if I wont get social security or a pension in the future JUST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE


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## BadgeBunny (Nov 2, 2010)

IrritatedWithUS said:


> I'm in my 20's and I just started preparing and saving money up as if I wont get social security or a pension in the future JUST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE


Good for you!! The only problem I have with this whole mess is that back when I was in my 20s (am now much, much older! ) there was talk even then about the "looming" problem with baby boomers (me!) coming of age. They talked of increasing contributions, they talked of raising retirement age (which they did at least a little bit ... I cannot draw social security until I am 67 and 1/2), they talked of privatization. But for the most part that is all it was ... talk.

I "may" be just a tad bit pissed because if I had the opportunity to invest the money that they took out of all my paychecks (I worked 2, 3 and sometimes 4 jobs at a time for the 20 years I was a single mom and have paid into the system since I started working since I was 14) I would be fine all on my own right now.

Should they like to return that money in a lump sum payment to me now (even without any interest tacked on) I would still be okay. But one way or another I am gonna be robbed ... either by them not paying me, or by them paying me a greatly reduced rate -- like *Andi I would not be surprised if I don't get anything at all ...

Seems to be the story of my life ... first my parents, then my ex-husband, now my government and the pension plan I was REQUIRED to pay into (I was a state employee) are screwing around with me ...

If I sound bitter, I don't mean to ... It's not bitterness I feel ... It's more like PISSED off to no end. :ignore:

So ... my advise to anyone who will listen is to put back at least 10% of what you gross (not net) and NEVER touch it. I did this as much as I could (single mom, three kids, no child support) but not as much I needed to. While I will still be comfortable in my twilight years (what a stupid term ... I am acutally having more FUN now than I ever did when I was half this age! LOL) I definitely could have done better ... Because I cannot count the number of times while I was calculating my retirement needs over the years I said to myself "Well, I can expect at least this much from Soc Sec and at least this much from the state" ...I should have been saying "Crap ... they are stealing me BLIND!!"


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## vn6869 (May 5, 2010)

BadgeBunny said:


> Good for you!! . . .
> 
> Should they like to return that money in a lump sum payment to me now (even without any interest tacked on) I would still be okay. But one way or another I am gonna be robbed ... either by them not paying me, or by them paying me a greatly reduced rate -- like *Andi I would not be surprised if I don't get anything at all ...
> 
> ...


BadgeBunny, sorry to hear people have been screwing with you your whole life. Sounds like you have had the character to overcome, I applaud you for that. :kiss:

As for them returning the money, sorry they have done spent it. Had a lot of votes to buy, er, poor people to socially support. :sssh:

As to "putting back at least 10%", couldn't agree more, but you and I realize, now that we are in our "golden" years, that wasn't anymore possible for us than it is for them. Young people have other priorities, kids, buying a house, etc., etc..

Social Security has been stealing us blind. Since the government feels it is more a social program, for supporting their potential voters, rather than a retirement plan, they have treated it as such and spent it as they do every other tax dollar they collect. 

Us "baby boomers" now retiree's are going to pay the price for their mismanagement.


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## BadgeBunny (Nov 2, 2010)

vn6869 said:


> BadgeBunny, sorry to hear people have been screwing with you your whole life. Sounds like you have had the character to overcome, I applaud you for that. :kiss:
> 
> As for them returning the money, sorry they have done spent it. Had a lot of votes to buy, er, poor people to socially support. :sssh:
> 
> ...


Thanks! I went back and re-read most post and it sounds kinda sad, but seriously, it's not a problem (well except I miss the money LOL) now. My parents were what they were and I am one tough cookie because of them. 

And you are right about the priorities thing. But I double-dog dare any 20 or 30 something person who reads this to look at themselves in the mirror and honestly assess where their money goes. Even though I didn't have much back then I still could have been more careful. Would it have been fun? Well, no. Would I have been much better off for it? Most definitely.

And you are right. It is gonna be the baby boomers who are gonna pay through the nose for this mess. Thankfully I have my health and I am stubborn. And luckily I still have a little time to get ready and I am doing what I can to make hay while the sun shines. (Ever the optimist!)

I heard on the news again today that a smart strategy was to invest in your company's 401(k) to get matching funds. How many people with GM or Enron or Lucent or any of the other big companies did that and lost their money along with the "free" money that the lure of matching contributions is? :dunno:

My husband is a LEO. He was not investing at all when I met him. Why? Well, his dad had retired from the department with nothing but a pension and he did "fine". :gaah: Bless his heart, I straightened that out in short order! LOL And now he is glad I "made" him start putting back extra.

We have been way too trusting and too naive as a society. Nobody is gonna take care of us ... or even honor their commitments to us. We might as well just resign ourselves to that fact, get our britches pulled up and get on with it. :dunno:


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## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

BadgeBunny said:


> My husband is a LEO.


Doesn't your name give that way?


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

I'm screwed myself,social security and the food cards are all I have in the winter.

You know,I hate to say it,but if and when the drones in America wake up,its going to make the Holocaust look like a drive by shooting.

The America we knew and loved has been dead and gone for a while now,that Norman Rockwell sweetness just isn't there anymore,hasn't been since Bush1 and do you know who's to blame?we are.we just couldn't bring ourselves to say:

"THIS IS WRONG! STOP IT!"

Don't leave it up to the Christians to fix it either,we either forget petty differences like religion,politics and demography and fix it while there's half a chance or we'll look like an eastern European country in a decade!

At that point we'll either have a long and bloody revolution or slip quietly into the abyss.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*LEO Wife*



nj_m715 said:


> Doesn't your name give that way?


 You should know all the trick phrases, Like, my husband's going to kill me , (when you get pulled over for a traffic violation).

I never could get my wife to do it, she just took the citation and told me to take care of it.

We worked three jobs and paid off all our debts. When you're working that much, you really don't have time to spend a lot of money on foolish things so we put back the maximum amount in the employee IRA's and 401K's

When it looked like the government or our employer's were going to lose it or use it, we pulled it out and invested it our selves in mutual funds and the bond market.

I got out of the bond market when Leamon Bro's cost me 45 K and now I buy and sell gold and silver . I am doing pretty good with the spot market on silver.

I am fully retired now at 62 . I draw disability but I don't expect that to last.

My wife can retire in three more years but I will be pleasantly surprised if Soc. Sec still exists.


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## BadgeBunny (Nov 2, 2010)

nj_m715 said:


> Doesn't your name give that way?


LOL ... Yep ... I guess it does. 



BillM said:


> You should know all the trick phrases, Like, my husband's going to kill me , (when you get pulled over for a traffic violation).
> 
> I never could get my wife to do it, she just took the citation and told me to take care of it.
> 
> ...


I did got pulled over by the same officer twice in ten days. When he asked if he was gonna have to call my husband  I very adamantly informed him I would rather go to jail than deal with what would be waiting for me at home if he did. 

Honestly, people think being married to a JBT is a pass when nothing could be further from the truth (at least in my case)! 

Sounds like you did good (the PM business). Like you we both worked hard to pay off debt. His child support ends in a few months. We can hardly wait!! One big splurge in October (first vacation for us and we've been together for 12 years now) and then it will be back to work ...


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## PopPop (Sep 14, 2010)

When these pensioners are broke and desperate the gubberment will play "Lets Make a Deal". This will not be good for the republic. It is a house of cards and the wind is picking up!


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