tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post7202416120759823493..comments2023-11-22T04:27:07.521-06:00Comments on glen brown: What Should Illinois Legislators Do Now Since They Cannot Break a Constitutional Contract with Retirees and Public Employees? by Glen Browngbrownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13435049339082622611noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-50526077026417731652017-07-14T07:21:07.647-05:002017-07-14T07:21:07.647-05:00What did state policymakers do instead?
They shif...What did state policymakers do instead?<br /><br />They shifted the state's normal costs to the pension systems to local school districts. They created a Tier III defined-contribution savings plan option for new teachers and Tier II teachers. They ignored the fact that current Tier II teachers are contributing too much to their pension plans (This will cause serious Social Security problems in the future for these teachers and the State of Illinois!).<br /><br />They will continue to increase the inequities that have existed in Illinois for years (budget cuts across the board for the middle class and poor and more corporate welfare for the wealthy elite). They will continue to blame public employees and retirees for the state's budget problems, as if the Illinois Supreme Court decision never happened. The immoral liars and thieves among the General Assembly still want to repeal the Pension Protection Clause as if the Illinois Supreme Court decision had never happened... In short, it is much easier for liars and thieves among the Illinois General Assembly to continue their charade of political posturing and scapegoating public employees and retirees then to address the revenue and pension debt problems they have created and ignored in Illinois. gbrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13435049339082622611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-59792401745644279212017-03-22T09:56:35.132-05:002017-03-22T09:56:35.132-05:00The banks need to be told that they will not be re...The banks need to be told that they will not be receiving interest on state debt due to budgetary constraints. No wonder banks make substantial contributions to political campaigns! Legislators sure have no problem taking away pensions - banks and legislators have robbed the public enough. Their time is up.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02100146508433460502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-36783419482990220732017-03-22T09:52:04.968-05:002017-03-22T09:52:04.968-05:00World Income Owned by U.S.: 48%
Source: Paris Sc...World Income Owned by U.S.: 48%<br />Source: Paris School of Economics - The World Top Incomes Database, Credit Suisse - Global Wealth Datebook 2013, J.P. Morgan Asset Management<br />Latest income data: U.S. 2012. Income excludes capital gains.<br /><br />Latest Share of World Wealth Owned by Top 10%: U.S. 74%<br />Latest wealth data: U.S. 2010<br /><br />Data are as of 11/25/13<br /><br />Average family income, excluding capital gains, adjusted for inflation (2012):<br />Bottom 90%: $30,439 (down -10.7% from 2002)<br />Top 5-10%: 130,990 (up 2.6% from 2002)<br />Top 1-5%: $216,947 (up 6.1% from 2002)<br />Top 0.5-1%: $441,423 (up 11.3% from 2002)<br />Top 0.1-0.5%: 837,377 (up 18.2% from 2002)<br />Top 0.01-0.1%: $2,782,303 (up 29.5% from 2002)<br />Top 0.01%: 21,569,156 (up 76.2% from 2002)<br /><br />Source: The Wall Street JournalAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02100146508433460502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-7501495667473388422017-03-07T16:22:29.657-06:002017-03-07T16:22:29.657-06:00Glen--I just attended a "Crisis in IL" m...Glen--I just attended a "Crisis in IL" meeting, at which Bobby Otter--from the CTBA--spoke--the very same solutions given by the CTBA years ago--over & over again, particularly at that last hearing (held July 3rd at the Bilandic Bldg.--guess they thought people wouldn't come, this being the day before July 4th--but, no--overflow crowd)held by "The Committee of Ten," chaired by Dem. Sen. Kwami Raoul<br />(he who most recently voted yea on the latest "Grand Bargain" bill), w/ CTBA Exec. Director Ralph Martire citing the solutions. Everyone--the G.A. does NOT want to solve this...not one iota. The money would come out of the pockets of corporations & those who made billions from their corporations (RE; the progressive tax as one part of the solution).<br />Does anyone else reading this find it "off" that Caterpillar--in all of its profitable years, STILL laid off large #s of workers? &, now, they are being investigated by the Feds for tax evasion? AND the CEO was forced to resign (w/surely a GREAT severance package, however). And--for the last cut--in their move to Chicago (which cuts even more workers in Peoria)--today's Tribune is looking at the possibility of garnering some big, fat Cat contributions to Chicago charities, such as the Greater Chicago Food Depository. (I think Cat had best contribute to whatever food depositories, etc., are in their hometown, seeing as, most likely their laid-off workers have had to make use of them.)<br />What must, at this point, be done? Elections are always coming up--PRIMARY any DINOs (check Fred Klonsky's Blog to view the screen vote in the last "Grand Bargain" bill) w/Bernie Sanders & Elizabeth Warren-style candidates, & do it the way Bernie's campaign collected money--from we, the people. More than past time to think globally, act locally. <br /><br />Also--to the We are One Coalition--no more giving $4 million to any G.O.P.primary candidates (Dillard)--especially not one who was the IL Chairman of ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council). Finally, should you readers not be aware of ALEC, you'd best Google it, make yourself aware & then tell everyone else you know.<br />ALEC--buying legislators since 1973, & largely responsible for our current state (& national) set of affairs. And still going strong, in part due to the ignorance of the public (by way of NO coverage by msm). retiredbutmissthekidshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11718839023774142152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-12424499345589078482017-03-07T12:13:32.934-06:002017-03-07T12:13:32.934-06:00In regard to your unfortunate situation, if you wa...In regard to your unfortunate situation, if you want more information about the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision, click on the GPO/WEP link under the masthead of this blog.<br />gbrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13435049339082622611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-89664017338030204672017-03-07T08:39:24.034-06:002017-03-07T08:39:24.034-06:00Llilly, Well said. I would also like to add that...Llilly, Well said. I would also like to add that as a retired teacher and now widow, I lose the social security I paid before I went into teaching, as well as my late husband's, even though he paid into it his entire life (passed at 52). Millions of teachers (donated) money to ss that they will never see.Bunteleonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02565838356319211264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-89370980612903675942016-01-26T21:34:36.298-06:002016-01-26T21:34:36.298-06:00As a retired teacher I am forever frustrated with ...As a retired teacher I am forever frustrated with the position people, like the current governor, take about our pension plan being "too good" and they should look more like the kind of retirement plans the members of the community have. My response is always to suggest they work harder to improve their own retirement benefits instead of trying to dismantle ours. There is a lot of animosity directed toward public employees simply because they did the hard work to benefit workers and their families.~llillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13006718968166539641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-70860812498640266252016-01-26T13:43:46.900-06:002016-01-26T13:43:46.900-06:00Dear Don,
I am not opposed to taxing upper-level ...Dear Don,<br /><br />I am not opposed to taxing upper-level retirement income, but I bet retired members of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Civic Federation, Illinois Policy Institute, et al. would be opposed to having their retirement income taxed, however.gbrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13435049339082622611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-22513727846857710622016-01-26T10:44:59.323-06:002016-01-26T10:44:59.323-06:00Taxing retirement income is an adult action. Reti...Taxing retirement income is an adult action. Retirement contributions are done pre tax. Thus tax was never paid on that portion of income. Social Security the same thing. Why would it somehow be fair for rich folks to pay a more progressive tax but retired folks pay none. Do they use less roads? Do their family members use or get a benefit from better schools and public services?<br /><br />Personally my take is a libertarian one, so I am not here to debate how I think it should be done. I was a corrections officer in Illinois for many years and am totally in awe everytime someone says they have a right to something and yet will watch and vote for folks that say they will give it to them and yet blatantly not fund it. So until there are adults on both sides of the problem there will be no solution. <br /><br />Just my point of view, nothing more. I did enjoy reading your take<br /><br />DonAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00019557296699113426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-10217790135647929432015-05-12T11:13:56.953-05:002015-05-12T11:13:56.953-05:00“Ralph Martire, executive director at the Center f...“Ralph Martire, executive director at the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (CTBA), [said] that lawmakers need to get ‘more realistic’ about revenue options. ‘I think legislators need to grow up, and we need to have an honest discussion on revenue,’ he said. ‘It's the political system's refusal to deal with revenue and tax policy like adults that got us where we are today, so it created the unfunded liability in the pension system, which is a symptom of this revenue problem. It is not the cause of our fiscal problem.’<br /><br />“CTBA has put forward a proposal to re-amortize the state's pension debt, an approach Martire says ‘is the only constitutional way to fund the pensions and fund the current services.’ Under the center's pension re-amortization model, the debt owed to the state's pension system would be paid off over 42 years with a level annual debt service payment of $7.4 billion, Martire said.<br /><br />“As part of the CTBA's re-amortization blueprint, the state would have to expand its sales tax base to include consumer services, tax some retirement income (keeping the full exclusion for people with adjusted gross incomes of $50,000 a year or less) and increase the personal income tax rate from the current 3.75 percent to between 4.5 percent and 4.75 percent. The only people who would see an income tax on all of their retirement income would be those with at least $150,000 a year in adjusted gross income, Martire said.<br /><br />“‘It's not like it's impossible to find the revenue to do this. It's actually very possible, very pragmatic, very common sense,’ Martire said. ‘Without enhancing revenue, and doing those couple of revenue changes ... It's game over. You can't solve these problems. So let's be practical and do what we need to do’” (progressillinois.com).<br /><br />gbrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13435049339082622611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-9679918719579763172015-05-12T10:42:27.569-05:002015-05-12T10:42:27.569-05:00I am not opposed to taxing upper-level retirement ...I am not opposed to taxing upper-level retirement income. I bet retired members of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Civic Federation, Illinois Policy Institute, et al. would be opposed to having their retirement income taxed, however.gbrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13435049339082622611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-53810260208324570222015-05-12T10:09:32.940-05:002015-05-12T10:09:32.940-05:00Interesting that, among the solutions you posit (n...Interesting that, among the solutions you posit (noting, in most cases, Illinois among a minority of states not doing), taxing pensions is conspicuously absent... something Illinois also numbers among a mere handful of states not presently imposing.Charhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17244428484604873345noreply@blogger.com