(BigGovernment.news) Really, it was just a matter of time before it happened: Liberal regressive Democratic bureaucrats and lawmakers who made rich promises to political constituents back in a time when tax coffers were flush are now eying your retirement accounts to help them pay for these promises. And in the end, we’ll all end up broke (except for the bureaucrats).
As reported by AMI Newswire, unfunded state pension liabilities now amount to more nearly $5.6 trillion – an amount of money so large it appears impossible to raise and pay off.
Well, nearly impossible. AMI noted that lawmakers and policymakers already have a funding source in mind: You:
Unfunded state pension system liabilities top nearly $5.6 trillion and taxpayers could get stuck with the bill to close the gap.
The new report, prepared for the American Legislative Exchange Council, said state pension systems as a whole can fund only 35 cents of every dollar of obligation they have to retirees–and the problem is getting worse.
Total assets of all 50 state public pension systems have declined nearly 1 percent in value, or roughly $900 billion, according to ALEC’s review, since its last published review in 2014.
“Combined across all states,” the report’s authors said, “the price tag for unfunded pension liabilities is now $17,427 for every man, woman and child in the United States.”
Part of the problem, the report said, is state pension systems use “accounting tricks” to mask the true size of their unfunded obligations.
This organized theft is already taking place in California, a state that has been ruled by a single party – far-Left Democrats – for decades. There, lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown are forcing all workers to contribute 3 percent of their ever-decreasing paychecks to fund the state’s underfunded pension system. But it won’t stop there. As The Federalist reports:
California Gov. Jerry Brown just signed Senate Bill 1234 into law, a bill that makes retirement savings accounts mandatory for any business with more than four employees. Instead of requiring businesses to offer a 401(k) plan through a financial services firm, the law requires a 3 percent payroll deduction with the money going to the state for safekeeping—unless the employee opts out. It’s estimated that 7.5 million private-sector workers in California will be conscripted into the state-run system.
Here are some of the worst offenders:
- Illinois’ unfunded pension liabilities are $77,822 per household, the second-highest in the nation;
- California’s unfunded pension liabilities are $77,700 per household, the third-highest in the nation;
- Connecticut’s unfunded pension liabilities are $72,862 per household, the fourth-highest in the nation;
- Massachusetts’ unfunded pension liabilities are $60,652 per household, the sixth-highest in the nation;
- Oregon’s unfunded pension liabilities are $45,840 per household, the tenth-highest in the nation;
- Maryland’s unfunded pension liabilities are $44,038 per household, the thirteenth-highest in the nation.
Do you see a pattern here? Government in every single one of these states has been dominated by the Leftwing Party for nearly a half-century. Not small-government conservatives, big government liberals who used the power of their office and their one-party dominance to reward unions and public-sector employees – all of whom are left-leaning as well – with taxpayer-funded largess.
Now, in the age of the perpetually lousy Obama economy, these big-spending, over-promising states cannot rake in enough tax money on their own to pay what they owe. But instead of rewriting pension statutes and asking retirees to do more with less, they are turning to taxpayers’ future retirement accounts.
Typical liberal “solution” of kicking the can down the road and robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Eventually the teat will run dry and there will be no more citizens to from which to steal. At that point expect a full-blown rebellion against the elites. After all, when you have nothing else to lose…
More:
- No, Obama Hasn’t Made Pentagon Purchases More Efficient, Like He Promised
- Broke Governments Now Want To Tax Streaming Services – How Come They Never Cut Back On Spending?
- The ‘Carbon Tax’ Idea Is Back Again, And This Time You Won’t Believe Who’s Pushing It
(c) 2016 USA Features Media.
