Re: Economic alchemy?

On Jan 29, 5:30 pm, Robert Sturgeon <rstu...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:18:50 -0600, nick hull





<nh...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
In article
<18d9ac19-2bce-4e2d-99d8-293a99d4d...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
phil scott <p...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Jan 29, 8:00 am, Robert Sturgeon <rstu...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:22:31 -0800 (PST), phil scott

<p...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Jan 28, 3:25 pm, Vide...@xxxxxxx wrote:

snip

 and when rates hit zero, what then?

Then, if they still want to expand the money supply by
lending it into existence, they'll pay us to borrow it.  I
think they'll just spend it into existence instead.  Either
way, look forward to more inflation.  A lot more.  It's
either that or a recession/depression, and they're dedicated
to avoiding a recession/depression, no matter how much
inflation it takes to avoid one.

that appears to be the usual solution,  in the late stages of such
mess, not any other viable options it seems

Do you think SS will be inflated in tandem so the old folk wont
starve?   an alternative might be to provide subsedized food staples,
and then keep on with the current COLA based on a largely spun core
CPI...

SS will lose by not being inflated enough; too little too late.

Yup.

Govt pensions will be inflated more so they will gain while everyone
else loses, until the rope comes out ;)

SOME government pensions -- yes.  For the lowly
rank-and-file?  No way.  

All state of calif law enforcement, officers..not the leadership but
the cops on the beat, sherrif deputy's, prison guards etc. retire at
90% of the their last years pay...which is in the 70 to 80,000 dollar
range.. so you would think retirement at that rate would be 63 to
72,000 year. Not the $100,000 to $140,000 or more that I
stated.


However...... a practice called 'spiking' is employed... its been in
SF, LA, San Diego, and Marin county papers... that entails saving up
uniform alowances, vacation days etc from the two or three years
prior to retirement for credit to the this last years base pay...
'spiking' it. Additionally, the unspoken agreement in force is that
officers in their last year get the overtime when others take off sick
etc. This spikes the final years income well over 150k in many
cases, well over 100k in most.

resulting retirements are in he 100 to 150k range.

I met the insurance consultant called in by one of these cities to
look into why on any given day 30% or so of the civil servants were
off sick or on workmans comp claims... he had a lot to say also.
and of course the resulting need for overtime is useful to the last
year employees.

Exceptions are civil service not in these above listed
categories..clerks in the water dept etc... those retire at 60% of
last years pay or some other formula...depending. but with 100% full
coverage health insurance.


Chiefs retire at about a quarter a million dollars a year... most
recently the disgraced chief of police (and his idiot citizn beating
son) left the department...the chief at $250,000 a year... the son
probably at a tiny fraction of that since he had only been on the dept
10 years or so. (both arrested for brawling at the 4 seasons hotel
in Arizona a few years ago... the son and his buddy charged in a
citizen abuse case, beating and stealing a citizens fajihita's...
headline news for weeks.... the case of course was
whitewashed..charges dropped).


This is only a **recent** phenomena...and If met more thana few older
police retirees who wince at what they see...its been in place since
2000 or so. retirement at the 90% of last years pay and the spiking
practices.


Civil service unions work overtime to keep this out of the press...
the papers mentioned above managed only one or two articles before
they went silent on the issue... following articles on the issue were
puff pieces.


Many try to claim that such retirements are self funded...... in some
states they are.... in many they are not as evidenced by the crashes
state and city budgets and if you look mention is made of the
retirement costs. the city of novato l fire and police budget for
retirement costs was over half of the total budget a few years ago and
rising fast ...by now its no doubt over half of the budget... and
lamenting that the boomer retirements were about to hit and they had
no idea how in the hell they could possibly fund these departments
given the property tax was already at a max and driving some out of
the area.



Phil Scott





Might that rope come out for the
leadership?  One can only hope...

--
Robert Sturgeon
Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency.http://www.vistech.net/users/rsturge/- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: Bush Escape Plans
    ... If you had the brain power to get an education, ... When I went to work for the largest mail order firm in the country, the people with degrees were all working under me and drawing far less pay. ... What is the plan for the USA by your Republicans after the next series of elections? ... When did Social Security become the national retirement plan. ...
    (rec.outdoors.rv-travel)
  • Re: "Critics cry foul in Bush Social Security maneuver"ecurity
    ... "And what would you propose to do with all those 'irresponsible' people who don't adequately prepare, or prepare at all for their retirement?" ... And when you were reminded of the citations, you post the highly intelligent response 'pish, posh.' ... They are the ones who can afford to pay. ... Graduated taxes control the economy and permit the formation of a middle class, which is what strengthens the economy. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: adding tolls to existing interstates
    ... The 'stupid military' is not who's making damaging policy ... When I talk about the criminality of the Commissioned Officers I also ... is their retirement benefits and pensions. ... retirement is a percentage of pay. ...
    (misc.transport.road)
  • Retirement after 10 years, study recommends
    ... Retirement after 10 years, study recommends ... Under the proposal, which would cover both active and reserve forces, retirement pay would equal 2.5 percent of average basic pay over a member’s three highest earning years in uniform, multiplied by years of service. ... Annuities would be augmented by defined contributions made by the Defense Department to members’ Thrift Savings Plan accounts, regardless of whether members contributed more. ... Contributions would be a percentage of annual basic pay. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • 12 Worst Mistakes Mormons Make With Their Money
    ... We don't pay tithing only to receive blessings-we pay ... exercise faith-but we do receive the blessings after showing the ... You need to set: GOALS. ... worry-free retirement that allows you the freedom ...
    (soc.religion.mormon)