Article from For Liberty by Norm Leahy.
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon asked the state’s congressional delegation to secure at least $10 billion in federal funding to bail out the state employee pension fund.
Illinois currently has a $138 billion unfunded pension liability. In 2019, well before the coronavirus outbreak, Moody’s flagged the state’s pension liabilities as the highest in the nation.
Harmon’s appeal to the congressional delegation was clear:
Harmon specifically asked that the feds “Provide direct cash assistance to the pension systems” or “Offer a low interest federal loan to aid Illinois in our efforts to restore and maintain retirement security for public sector workers …”
The Reason Foundation’s Jen Sidorova wrote that a federal bailout would send the wrong signal to state’s like Illinois:
If federal taxpayers are asked to bail out Illinois’ pension system, it would set a precedent that would eliminate much of the motivation that states have to make responsible changes and pension reforms that can put retirement plans on the track to solvency.
That’s a nice way of saying a bailout would reward bad behavior, and likely encourage more states to shift the retirement burden for their public employees from local taxpayers to the nation’s taxpayers.
Image Credit: By Jericho [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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labor unions always get involved in the employees retirement, then they slowly liquidate it and then they call for government bailout. over and over again. then the state gets it and builds it up again and then the union wants control of it back when its healthy and then they rob it and spend it blind and then want the state to bail it out again.. whats new?
As an Illinois retiree, I can only say this mess is due to Madigan and Cullerton robbing the money which was to go into the pension fund so they could use it for various pork barrel projects. They also allowed people to rob it by transferring into a high-paying state job right before retiring so their pension would be based on that rate of pay. I played by the proper rules and did nothing to inflate mine
As the feds have said no bailouts for reckless and stupid budgets of states. Many cities, counties, states have done very stupid pension plans and many have had to bite the bankruptcy bailout. Poor decisions and poor intelligence of those elected have led to these fiscal problems. But the US government and tax dollars should never be used to bailout idiots.
Let em eat old Nancy’s ice cream. And let the voters who voted them in kick em out and perhaps do better on the next candidate. One would hope the voters learn that dim wits are always in need of bailouts as they have no concept of the words budget and discovery when making decisions by reviewing past history and the books!
No fcking way
Ditto!
They spend 25 to 30 BILLION dollars to support, protect, and educate illegal aliens in their sanctuary state. Trumps needs to say start there before you asks taxpayers to bail out your destructive agenda.
Not just NO, HELL NO !!!!
YOU MADE THE MESS, YOU CLEAN IT UP !!!
you’ve got to be kidding, right? This is the street they wanted to go down, even if it turned into a dead end. They chose this road and we are not going to bail you out for being so stupid. Tooooooooooooooooo Bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Illinois have made there own choose to be a sanitary state and not to adhere to a budget. Federal government should not bail them out. Fix your own mistakes!
Tax your own citizen, leave the rest of us alone.
We in Illinois are already taxed higher than most states. It is not a revenue problem, it’s bad management, a lot of it intentional to buy votes of the unions.
Rauner was a better Governor if it was not for Madigin’s obstruction he would have started to straiten out the state …
Let Chicago fen for itself …
NO WAY!! WE ARE NOT BAILING OUT DEM STATES!! BAIL YOUR OWN SELVES OUT!!!
I was born and lived in Chicago as did my father, and grandfather. My father was a printer and belonged to the printers union, who heavy supported the Democrat state and local governments over the years. He was on strike for 4 years and walked the picket line in the dead of winter. A year after he retied the Union ran out of the pension fund into which he had paid for over 40 years. The union had spent it all on supporting the corrupt politicians of the Chicago city government. This city and state have never had the interest of the individual tax payers and their lively hoods. Their only goal has been the corrupt control and power of dictatorship. Let this state fall on it’s sword. Not a penny should be given them to bail them out of whatever financial hardship they have created for themselves. Maybe the residents of the state and the city of Chicago will finally wake up and get rid the the thieves and corrupt individuals in charge of this state and city.
I agree with all suggestions that “public servant” posted above. I think these people should rot in H…! Thank God my father recognized the problem and moved us to another state far removed from “the land of Lincoln”.
Don’t bail Illinois out , those Chicago politicians have spent the moneys they revived for every thing Chicago and very little for what they told the people of the State they needed it for …
We moved out of Illinois in 06. The most corrupt place I’ve ever lived. There is taxes and fees on everything. Peoria even has a rain fee. No fees on air yet. I’m sure their working on it. The pension obligation is eating the budget. They have literally given the city away to the unions. Many retired employees make over 100 K in retirement. The city is millions in debt. The state is bankrupt. The infrastructure is in terrible shape. The criminals running the state belong behind bars. Don’t give them a dime. My wife collects a pension form the state and we fully expect it will be reduced significantly.
” HELL NO )