(Illinois Governor) Pat Quinn floats the idea of a pension bailout

I'm pretty sure both of these things can't be right.

Maybe when Illinois gets a military.

Ever heard of the National Guard?

It is. And as a resident of MASSACHUSETTS I do not wish to bail out corrupt officials in that lousy state (which is what this thread is about per the WSJ article).

Illinois lawmakers unveiled a plan Sunday they believe can fix the state's huge pension crisis, but labor unions blasted the proposal and vowed to sue to protect their benefits.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, said he thought it possible to reach a deal in time for a vote this week. Nekritz sounded more cautious.

"We think the bill will get out of committee, and then we'll see," Nekritz said. "This has been so fragile at every step along the way that if we can get it to committee, great, and if we can get it off the floor, great, but we're still working our way through it."

But the labor union coalition We Are One slammed the proposal Sunday, claiming union representatives had been shut out of negotiations and that politicians were using unconstitutional schemes to ruin retirement security for hundreds of thousands of Illinois workers.

Good to see IL lawmakers finally have the cajones to admit what's wrong with their state.....

Illinois lawmakers propose new pension fix, but unions vow suit
[reuters.com]

20 years ago, a deal was struck. Private sector workers were asked "would you rather have a higher salary? The catch is that we're getting rid of your pension. Instead, you get to invest the money in a 401k yourself!" The reply? "I don't need no fancy pants money manager telling me how to invest...I'm in...plus bigger salary! Woo, doggies!"

In the public sector, the same deal was offered. Those workers were smart enough to think the following: "wait a tick...yes, the salary is higher, but the cost to me in 20 years is going to be huge. Penny-wise, pound-foolish. I'll take the lower salary with the guaranteed retirement."

People who took that 401k deal were fools. They trusted the market to provide for their security. Stupid.

People who took that lower pay/keep the pension were smart. They should not be penalized for their intelligence now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_...rasshopper

I simply disagree. The people that took 401k's have at least some assurance they will get their money. The people that took pensions were more like grasshoppers they asked the ants if they would take care of them in old age if they helped out the ants now. The grasshopper couldn't be bothered to store his own food for the future.

Also, depending on your 401k mix, you could be doing just fine over 40 years of investment. More than likely, better than fine. The Dow was at 1000 in '73. If you stayed lean on your withdraws from 2009 through today, you will have recovered the vast majority of what you "lost".

Finally, the only think stupid about putting money in a 401k is that the people that do well might get raided by the government in the future to help fund bailouts of pensions and SS.

People like gunnerusa gambled on the solvency of the state of Illinois. They lost. Tough sh*t.

It used to be that conservatives would always be in favor of people honoring their obligations. Here we have a state that has promised retirement compensation to its employees and some here are getting giddy re the possibility that the state would tell these retirees "tough sh*t."

It used to be that conservatives would always be in favor of people honoring their obligations. Here we have a state that has promised retirement compensation to its employees and some here are getting giddy re the possibility that the state would tell these retirees "tough sh*t."

It used to be that conservatives would always be in favor of people honoring their obligations.

Here we have a state that has promised retirement compensation to its employees and some here are getting giddy re the possibility that the state would tell these retirees "tough sh*t."

What on earth do conservatives (or anyone for that matter) from the 49 other states have to do with obligations 1 wreckless state made to its public employees?

What on earth do conservatives (or anyone for that matter) from the 49 other states have to do with obligations 1 wreckless state made to its public employees?

What should happen? Why should people who have nothing to do with it be taxed more because 1 state can't properly fund a pension? Where was the union in all of this keep tabs on the pension?