- Union Pension Funds
The States And Financial Ruin
Exclusive to Rense.com
By Devvy
7-13-10
-
 Back on December 15, 2008, I did a column
titled, UAW
President: Rob the People's bank! That brought a deluge of email from
members of the UAW who emphatically stated I was a selfish b*tch, that
I knew nothing about unions and without a union, workers in the auto industry
would be exploited. My column was about the flat out illegal bail out of
the auto makers and how free trade has killed our most important job sectors.
Yet, the victims of "free" trade continue to vote the same incumbents
back into office who destroyed millions of jobs and who now refuse to get
H.R. 4759 passed. Get the U.S. out of NAFTA and bring home millions of
jobs. I wrote
about this critical bill back on March 20, 2010. There are still only
30 sponsors; two Republicans. Neither the Republicans or the Democrats
in the Outlaw Congress care about the American worker. Their votes have
killed our economy; the so-called financial reform bill was nothing but
more smoke and mirrors.
-
- The Democrats have had control of Congress since January
2007. They have done nothing to bring home millions of jobs by getting
the U.S. out of NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT, the WTO,stop the withholding taxing scheme,
demand enforcement of our immigration laws and deporting as many illegal
aliens as possible. Instead, Democrats in Congress champion illegals who
have stolen MILLIONS of jobs that belong to Americans of both parties.
Now, unions are going to spend a massive amount of money to return the
same incumbents back to Congress to continue destroying this republic:
-
- May 21, 2010. Unions to spend $100 million
to save Dem majorities
-
- Below is the mindset of the dummies coming out of the
government indoctrination centers (public schools) that have inculcated
the deadly communitarian doctrine (communist morality) into their heads
that has led tens of millions of Americans to believe that federal government
should be their caretaker throughout life. If you don't understand collectivism
v individualism, it is terribly important you take the time to learn. You
can listen from a master of knowledge on the issue, G. Edward Griffin.
Interview from my radio show; click
here for June 9, 2010 show.
-
- "Individual wealth is evil. Collective wealth is
the only virtue, social justice is the destination and Barack is the shepherd
leading us down that path. We must remove the barriers to equality created
by capitalism and embrace the righteousness of socialism." (Source,
see comments section at bottom of article).
-
- Slick career politicians like John Boehner [R-OH] can
continue belching about jobs, but
his votes killed millions of jobs. He is not a sponsor of H.R. 4759
to get US out of NAFTA. Boehner, like most Republicans and Democrats use
political currency to bash the other party while Americans sink further
into despair and poverty. If Democrats think it's all the fault of Bush
and Republicans, they are fools. The same goes for Republicans who blame
everything on Democrats. Both parties have brought this nation to financial
ruin. There are hundreds of thousands of hard working Americans from
both parties working feverishly to get the same buzzards reelected in November
who have loaded the gun and pulled the trigger on our economy and our children
and grand children's future. It is pure insanity.
-
- Last year, a very knowledgeable man named Fred Starkey
wrote two columns that really shook people up:
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- June 3, 2009. PERS: The Greatest Swindle in American History
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- June 19, 2009. Financial Rape: PERS of Oregon
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- After I read them, I brought Fred onto my radio show
because pension short falls were just starting to get the long over due
attention necessary to inform the American people of the dire condition
of those funds. Millions of Americans depend on their retirement funds
and like so many other columns I write, this one is going to give you the
raw truth. Knowing the facts can help you make important decisions for
you and your family. Hopefully, it will also encourage voters in November
to throw out incumbents in your state legislature who have created another
financial disaster that is going to badly hurt millions of Americans in
the states of the Union. There are many good state legislators, but the
incompetent fools from both parties out number those legislators who do
know the solutions, but can't get bills passed.
-
- Congress has NO authority to steal the fruits of your
labor, my sister's, your brother or mother to bail out state pension funds
because your state representative and senator have entered into long term
binding agreements with unions that were never realistic --- especially
in the event the economy takes a down turn. If only "down turn"
were the bottom line, but tragically, the American people haven't seen
anything yet. Do not send me hate mail for being the messenger. Read the
facts, understand the issue and then decide how all this is/will affect
you and your family. You can decide whether all these unions are good for
your state. If you are a member of a union, whether UAW, SEIU or at the
state level, perhaps there's something here for you to think about, too.
-
- Too many Americans are paying little or zero attention
to what's happened in Greece, Italy, Spain and other socialist countries.
Many don't realize Greece has unions and now that decades of bloated government
spending (like the U.S.) and massive "entitlements" have driven
Greece into financial ruin, there's no more money to pay the bills, just
like here in American both at the federal and state levels. The rioting
has been going on for months over there and if you think it's
not possible here, think again.
-
- Who pays the taxes for these union workers?
-
- June 23, 2010. New York. "Man Earns
$300,000 Public Pension. One of the critical problems facing the state
and local governments are pension funds that are way under funded. Fox
5 News first reported on James Hunderfund in May. The retired superintendent
of the Commack School System on Long Island earns a pension of about $316,000
a year. On top of that, Hunderfund is now the superintendent of the Malverne
School District. Fox 5 obtained his contract, which shows he makes about
$225,000 annually plus he gets 18 paid sick days and 23 paid vacation days
a year. His wife is the superintendent of the Locust Valley Central School
District on Long Island. Her contract shows she makes $250,000 a year.
When she retires she'll get a pension. All of this is perfectly legal and
paid for by taxpayers.
-
- "Fred Gorman, the founder of a watchdog group called
Long Islanders for Educational Reform, says the state employee pension
system is bleeding taxpayers dry and that the state Legislature needs to
step up and change the system. The web site seethroughny.net lists some
state pension earners. It shows a retiree from the New York Public Library
earning a pension of more than $188,000 year."
-
- June 27, 2010. State pensions are inflated
as workers boost salaries. (This is NY) "Carmen A. Granto Jr. cashed
in 45 unused vacation days and 747 accumulated sick days, boosting his
salary over $200,000 in his two years before retiring.... Granto is getting
a $147,109 annual state pension in retirement. He was making $129,000 a
year when he retired in 2009. How did he do it? The same way others before
him did it."
-
- Underfunding of union pension funds isn't just a problem
for those who receive that check every month. It will drastically continue
to affect our economy for a long time to come - especially local economies.
How? By more rape at the federal level in taxes to illegally bail out any
pension funds. While the habitual liar, Obama/Soetoro says there will be
no more bail outs, it is the Outlaw Congress who can push through another
grotesque and illegal plunder of the people's treasury. If the Democrats
believe they will lose control of the House in November, there is a good
chance they will "lame duck" this type of illegal legislation
on the way out:
-
- May 24, 2010. The Next Bailout: $165B
for Unions. "A Democratic senator is introducing legislation for a
bailout of troubled union pension funds. If passed, the bill could put
another $165 billion in liabilities on the shoulders of American taxpayers.
The bill, which would put the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation behind
struggling pensions for union workers, is being introduced by Senator Bob
Casey, (D-Pa.), who says it will save jobs and help people. As FOX Business
Network's Gerri Willis reported Monday, these pensions are in bad shape;
as of 2006, well before the market dropped and recession began, only 6%
of these funds were doing well. Although right now taxpayers could possibly
be on the hook for $165 billion, the liability could essentially be unlimited
because these pensions have to be paid out until the workers die."
-
- We are talking massive numbers:
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- April 5, 2010. California Pensions Are
$500 Billion Short, Stanford Study Says
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- April 9, 2010. States Skip Pension Payments,
Delay Day of Reckoning
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- June 14, 2010. 61% Underfunded Illinois
Teachers Pension Fund Goes For Broke, Becomes Next AIG-In-Waiting By Selling
Billions In CDS
-
- June 19, 2010. In Budget Crisis, States
Take Aim at Pension Costs. "Many states are acknowledging this year
that they have promised pensions they cannot afford and are cutting once-sacrosanct
benefits, to appease taxpayers and attack budget deficits."
-
- As unemployment rises (it will get worse) and pensioners
get less than their full check, states will continue to be unable to generate
enough taxes to fund even basic services, much less these monstrous pension
funds.
-
- Are all state employees union?
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- Law and the Workplace On the Job
- Unions in the Workplace
-
- "If a union wins the election, must the workers
join the union? No. Just as the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) gives
employees the right to join unions, it also gives employees the right to
refuse to join a union. The NLRA prohibits both employers and unions from
forcing employees to join a union.
-
- "However, employees can be forced to pay for the
work that the union performs on their behalf, even if they do not want
to join the union. Most collective bargaining agreements contain a union
security clause. In effect, this clause requires workers to pay the dues
and fees that union members are required to pay. If a worker refuses to
pay dues, he or she can be fired.
-
- "Because the law requires the union to represent
all the workers in the bargaining unit, regardless of whether they are
members of the union, the law allows the union to "tax" the workers
for the benefits they receive from union representation. Some states prohibit
union security clauses."
-
- Let me ask this question: Is belonging to a union good
for your future? Do they are care about you - state unions or private ones
like the AFL-CIO, Teamsters?
-
- Let's take one of the most corrupt, the SEIU. The Service
Employees International Union spent
$60 MILLION dollars to get a stinking communist, who is legally
ineligible to run for president "elected" -- that would be Obama/Soetoro
who was born with dual citizenship. In 2007, Congressman Ron Paul introduced
the Tax
Free Tip Act would would make tips for service workers exempt
from federal or employment taxes. You would think the SEIU and Obama/Soetoro
would have jumped on that bill: No more federal taxes on tips for waiters,
waitresses and so forth. Oh, no, the SEIU did nothing to let their members
know anything about it. So, don't tell me the SEIU cares about their workers.
That union supported a Marxist who is hell bent on stealing every last
penny from every American except those he's in bed with politically and
financially. To be fair, the "caring" Republicans also ignored
the bill.
-
- How about the hundred million or so working folks who
don't belong to a union and are dying under the weight of federal and state
taxes? Do unions serve taxpayers?
-
- "Albany
Police Officers Union President Chris Mesley recently chimed in
regarding his position and the American taxpayer: "I'm not running
a popularity contest here," Mesley said. "If I'm the bad guy
to the average citizen . . . and their taxes have go up to cover my raise,
I'm very sorry about that, but I have to look out for myself and my membership."
-
- People want police protection, but should they be required
to pay for it 10, 20, 30 years after a police officer has left public service?
Does a policeman pay your retirement from J.C. Penny's after 25 years on
the job for another 20 years? Shouldn't it be the responsibility of the
individual to plan for their retirement and set up their own private retirement
fund or should the public be forced to contribute just because the individual
worked in "public service" whether it be police, state hospital
worker or janitor at the state capitol?
-
- April 28, 2010. Public Employee Unions
Work Against The Public
-
- "Many public sector union members get health benefits
when they retire for free or nearly free for the rest of their lives. A
friend's mother retired from a Northeast state DMV. She was a clerk. She
has medical coverage for life with $2 co-pays! Her pension was just raised
$4,000 a year. What clerk gets that in the private sector? It is also not
uncommon for public pensions to be high 5 or low 6 figure amounts. Why
should taxpayers pay for lavish health care plans and pensions that most
do not get themselves?
-
- "Public unions across the country do not want to
curb their pay, medical benefits or pensions, even though there is great
pain and expense to the taxpayer and the economy. Public unions are not
the entire reason states are in financial trouble, but cutting those benefits
are certainly part of the solution. The good of the union cannot supercede
the good of the public which pays them. Look for more protests and backlash
from unions as they are asked to take cuts. Look for more outrage and push
back from the public as they are asked to pay for the lush benefits. I
predict public unions will either take some big cuts voluntarily or be
forced to do so through bankruptcy. This money fight will not play well
with hard working voters in the private sector this fall. Remember, the
private sector is the only place where real wealth and prosperity is created.
The public sector does not generate revenue, it only confiscates taxpayer
money. Taxpayers need union employees to work for themnot against
them."
-
- Make no mistake about it: Unions hold lawmakers hostage
after they buy their favors with campaign donations. They are powerful,
but now, well, the rooster is coming home to croak.
-
- Of course, one must pay attention to the 'International'
in SEIU. That union is just another communist front operation promising
workers utopia, social justice and all the other communist claptrap while
mother government drowns them in more and more taxes. If you think I'm
just blowing smoke, you haven't studied communism as I have for more than
a decade. But, don't listen to me, listen to William Z. Foster who wrote,
Toward Soviet America. Foster was a useful fool, a Marxist labor organizer.
He served as Secretary General of the Communist party USA (very active
here in the USA) and promoted the destruction of free markets and capitalism
- the very systems that made America the greatest debt free nation every
on this earth. You can read Toward
Soviet America on line here. Learn how important unions are to the
communists towards Sovietizing this republic.
-
- In no way am I saying that every American who belongs
to any union is a communist or has communist sympathies. What I am saying
is that the goal of world communism is to replace our free enterprise system
by drumming into people's heads - especially union members - that capitalism
is evil. Tear down the classes! Raise up the toiling masses to their place
of social and economic justice! Unionize workers so the working class can
rise up for justice! Very dangerous propaganda and Foster gives it to you
in plain language:
-
- "The final aim of the Communist International is
to overthrow world capitalism and replace it by world Communism, "the
basis for which has been laid by the whole course of historical development."
On this the Program of the Communist International says :
-
- "Communist society will abolish the class division
of society, i.e., simultaneously with the anarchy in production, it will
abolish all forces of exploitation and oppression of man by man. Society
will no longer consist of antagonistic classes in conflict with each other,
but will represent a united commonwealth of labor. For the first time in
its history mankind will take its fate into its own hands....
-
- "The future Communist society will be Stateless.
With private property in industry and land abolished (but, of course, not
in articles of personal use), with exploitation of the toilers ended, and
with the capitalist class finally defeated and all classes liquidated,
there will then be no further need for the State, which in its essence,
is an organ of class repression.....
-
- "The road to this social development can only be
opened by revolution. This is because the question of power is involved.
The capitalist class, like an insatiable blood-sucker, hangs to the body
of the toiling masses and can be dislodged only by force. But when the
workers have conquered power, how- ever, then the way is clear for an orderly
development of society by a process of evolution. Naturally, even after
capitalism has been overthrown and the power taken by the workers, society
cannot simply leap to a complete Communist system. There are stages of
development to be gone through. The first of these is the transition period
from the overthrow of capitalism to the establishment of Socialism."
-
- An exceptional read on this is by Dr. Fred Schwarz: You
Can Trust the Communists to be Communists. Dr. Schwarz goes into Techniques
for Seizing Power, Revolt Through Labor Union Control, pgs 72-83. This
short work (182 pgs) is free on line; click
here.
-
- It's staring you right in the face America. Obama/Soetoro's
"czars" are a collection of dedicated socialists to hard core
Marxists.
-
- Whether union or not, I highly encourage you to read
this superb piece: Forgotten
Facts of American Labor History By Tom Woods (May 5, 2010):
-
- "The ways in which labor unionism impoverishes society
are legion, from the distortions in the labor market described above to
union work rules that discourage efficiency and innovation. The damage
that unions have inflicted on the economy in recent American history is
actually far greater than anyone might guess. In a study published jointly
in late 2002 by the National Legal and Policy Center and the John M. Olin
Institute for Employment Practice and Policy, economists Richard Vedder
and Lowell Gallaway of Ohio University calculated that labor unions have
cost the American economy a whopping $50 trillion over the past 50 years
alone.
-
- "That is not a misprint. "The deadweight economic
losses are not one-shot impacts on the economy," the study explains.
"What our simulations reveal is the powerful effect of the compounding
over more than half a century of what appears at first to be small annual
effects." Not surprisingly, the study did find that unionized labor
earned wages 15 percent higher than those of their nonunion counterparts,
but it also found thatwages in general suffered dramatically as a
result of aneconomy that is 30 to 40 percent smaller than it would have
been in the absence of labor unionism.
-
- "Although labor unionism has actually made working
people worse off, however, the usual argument for labor unionism and government
legislation on behalf of labor is that in the absence of these things,
employers will pay their workers unconscionably low wages."
-
- A monstrous storm is building within the states because
there is no money to meet all these obligations for public union pension
obligations. Many pensions have taken a massive hit from the BP disaster
in the Gulf:
-
- How BP Screwed Over 42 State Retirement Funds, Including Alabama
And Florida
-
- "The California Public Employees' Retirement System
lost $284.6 million in value as the largest oil spill in U.S. history erased
more than $1.4 billion from BP PLC shares held by 42 state retirement accounts,
data compiled by Bloomberg show. The declines come as public pension funds
are struggling to recover from investment losses that averaged 21 percent
last year, according to Wilshire Associates of Los Angeles."
-
- In the meantime, the states of the Union are putting
everything in jeopardy because to date, not one of them have passed a sound
money bill. Why is this so important? Back in January, I
sent a letter to 1100 state reps and senators about a sound money
bill. It is self explanatory; the actual letter is at the bottom of the
column. However, it is imperative that every citizen of every state, union
or non union, understand that almost 3/4ths of the states in this Union
are headed towards either total financial collapse or severe financial
ship wrecks that will cause a huge harm to her citizens.
-
- Those who depend on monthly checks from union pensions
had better take the time to understand the information below because the
states simply cannot meet those obligations and it will get worse for some
time to come. In my humble opinion, some of what the states are doing with
your retirement is dangerous for many reasons. The prime reason is the
decline of the dollar, ignorance of our monetary system, what will happen
when the FED can no longer print trillions in confetti and the commie Chinese
refuse to bail out America's foolishness.
-
- Here are but a few examples:
-
- June 1, 2007. Banks Sell 'Toxic Waste'
CDOs to Calpers, Texas Teachers Fund
- Feb. 18, 2010. U.S. state pension funds
have $1 trillion shortfall
- March 11, 2010. Public Pension Funds
Gamble With Risky Investments
- March 11, 2010. Failed Banks May Get
Pension-Fund Backing as FDIC Seeks Cash
-
- Let me give you a few words from Dr.
Edwin Vieira's testimony in March 2009 for the financial committee,
Montana State Legislature; the bill did not make it out of committee. A
tragedy:
-
- "The provision of an alternative currency will promote
social justice. It will begin to rectify the wrongs perpetrated against
wage earners whose standards of living cannot keep up with the systematic
inflation built into the Federal Reserve System; against the elderly and
infirm who live on fixed incomes that steadily erode in purchasing power;
against those anxiously approaching retirement while watching the real
values of their pension funds evaporate; against the poor whose only wealth
is the small amount of currency they acquire from week to week; and against
all the recipients of essential public services that the State finds it
difficult or even impossible to provide to the requisite degree because
the real values of tax revenues cannot keep pace with costs. And,
-
- "The provision of an alternative currency will fulfill
the State's legal, moral, and political responsibility to protect the safety,
health, and general welfare of her people against an economic calamity
that no one doubts confronts this country at the present time.....
-
- "But with this opportunity comes a extremely heavy
responsibility as well. This matter is too important to be left to a single
legislative committee's determination. More than any other issue in recent
memory, the need to provide Montana with a economically sound and constitutional
alternative currency vitally affects every resident of this State, and
perhaps every resident of the United States as a whole-not simply immediately,
but for many years to come. A mistake made here and now may prove incapable
of correction later on."
-
- Important links...
-
- I set up a special page to make this issue easy to understand.
It contains Dr. Vieira's full speech as well as others. It has model statutes
written by Edwin for both state governments and Congress. This isn't about
Republicans v Democrats, right v left. This is an American issue that affects
tens of millions of folks who depend on public pension annuities. The monetary
issue affects every man, woman and child in this country. All states go
back into session in January. Boots on the ground: Every adult in every
state must stay after your state rep and senator to get a sound money bill
passed - something that should have been done five years ago or more. We
are talking about the lifeblood of our nation and the ability for the states
to survive.
-
- Here is the special web site
http://www.devvy.com/123.html
-
- Pension Watch
- States of Crisis for 46 Governments Facing Greek-Style
Deficits
- Petition - Right to Work Committee
- Unions are the Biggest Threat to Farm Workers
- FEC Fails to Investigate Teachers' Complaint of NEA Union Money
Laundering Scheme
- May 18, 2010. Reelecting the Band Aid
Brigade
-
- My choice for president of these united States of America
in 2010: Rep. Sam Rohrer of Pennsylvania.
-
- Rohrer
Votes Against Costly Public Pension Bill "Representative
Sam Rohrer (R-Berks) today voted against a bill approved by the House that
would increase the cost to taxpayers paying for retirement benefits for
current state employees, teachers and legislators in the state's two pension
systems."
-
- You
tube video of Barack Obama in Kenya supporting
Raila Odinga, the election and violence afterwards. Odinga was the "agent
of change" who "promised to redistribute the wealth of the country
more evenly" Remember: Odinga, a Marxist socialist is Obama's cousin.
-
- SEIU - Neanderthal thugs who appear to have taken lessons
from Obama/Soetoro's cousin. Violence has a nasty way of escalating.
-
- Dozens Storm D.C. Bank Branches
- Huge Mob of SEIU Goons Attacks Banker's Home
- SEIU Calls Senators Terrorists
- ---
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- Visit Devvy's website at: http://www.devvy.com.
You can also sign up for her free email alerts. Devvy's radio show broadcasts
Mon-Fri, 3:00 pm PST, 5:00 pm CST and 6:00 pm EST. To listen, go to: http://www.renseradio.com/listenlive.htm
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