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Lerach: Don't Blame Public Union Members. Blame Wall Street
re: the above, try this link re: the above .. http://workinglife.org/blogs/view_post.php?conten… or http://www.workinglife.org/blogs/view_post.php?co…— March 7, 2011 3:39 p.m.
Lerach: Don't Blame Public Union Members. Blame Wall Street
Dear Just ... good call .. here's another eye-opener ... Mr Tassini calls for legal action against Wall St ... I hope he knows that the SCOTUS has changed the laws via a few past decisions that would preclude a class action securities lawsuit from proceeding against 'aiders and abettors' .. in other words, just looking at Enron...there would be no $7.2 billion recovery against on behalf of defrauded shareholders from the banks, law firms, accounting firms and whoever else helped enable the fraud...only against Enron, per se...which filed for bankruptcy. I think $66 million was recovered from them....the 22,000 or so employees lost all of their pensions anyway. see http://workinglife.org/blogs/view_post.php?conten… Pension contributions by employers—which as we know are DEFERRED WAGES!!!--went down. And only had to go up because of Wall St corruption. And, with all of that, we're talking about a $19,000 per worker contribution that is pretty modest. Facts are pesky, aren't they? What can be done? Consider this contrast: As I wrote recently, quoting The Wall Street Journal, "In 2010, total compensation and benefits at publicly traded Wall Street banks and securities firms hit a record of $135 billion, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal." So, the very people responsible for the financial criminality and/or incompetence on Wall Street are now the beneficiaries--again. On the other hand, we have a demand in New York, and in many other states, to cut the pensions of millions of workers, who were the VICTIMS of the financial criminality and/or incompetence on Wall Street. Solution: Let's sue Wall Street for all those losses and demand that those firms now making money hand over fist make every pension fund whole for the broad fraud perpetrated.— March 7, 2011 3:17 p.m.
Lerach: Don't Blame Public Union Members. Blame Wall Street
dear psyholizard...u make eminent sense ... another great case in point is the outsourcing of the war ... one could make the argument that the armed forces are a "union" of sorts (of course, the public pays handsomely for our Pentagon and no one seems to care that they can't keep track of $2.3 Trillion in transaction or lose up to $12 Billion in cash in Iraq)...or was that the fault of the contractors? the CPA under Bremer? the point is, we have more contractors than troops over there...and paying billions like we paid Perot billions...getting rid of public workers and outsourcing is another great source for crony capitalism and i submit it will cost more, not less, in the long run for the headaches and lack of liability, and ultimately, no accountability, in the long run. cf Paul Bremer's testimony before the Waxman Cmte in early 2007 about losing the billions in cash under his command...the media didn't bother covering it...pathetic.— March 7, 2011 3:02 p.m.
Lerach: Don't Blame Public Union Members. Blame Wall Street
SP ... u must also consider this ... Underfunded pension systems resulted from unprecedented losses of asset values caused by reckless behavior on Wall Street and the refusal of some politicians to make their required payments. As recently as 2007, pension funds had, collectively, 96% of the assets required to meet future expenditures. But Wall Street drove America's economy and retirement security into a ditch. And now both pension and 401(k) accounts alike must be rebuilt. Pension funds can be replenished over time at a modest cost. It is projected that states must increase pension spending from about 4% of their budgets to just 5% in the future. Surely, this is manageable. The "401(k) solution" promises cost-savings that just don't materialize. A recent study in Nevada concluded that conversion to a 401(k)-style system would cost $1.2 billion more over the next two fiscal years. 401(k) plans are not less expensive, just less efficient and less secure than traditional pensions. Most public pension systems have been in existence for 60 years or more. They have persevered during market downturns and enjoyed surpluses when the good times rolled. They predated public employee bargaining rights, and few plans are subject to the bargaining process today. They have traditionally enjoyed broad support as a cost-effective compensation and retirement security policy. from zerohedge.com/article/pension-meltdown-blame-it-w…— March 5, 2011 2:49 p.m.
Lerach: Don't Blame Public Union Members. Blame Wall Street
SP...these are the points that needs to be digested ... economist Dean Baker concludes, "Most of the pension shortfall using the current methodology is attributable to the plunge in the stock market in the years 2007-2009. If pension funds had earned returns just equal to the interest rate on 30-year... Treasury bonds in the three years since 2007, their assets would be more than $850 billion greater than they are today." And this—he quotes David Cay Johnston of tax.com: "The average Wisconsin pension is $24,500 a year, which is hardly lavish. But what is stunning is that 15% of the money contributed to the fund each year is going to Wall Street in fees," ... and then google "commonwealth club charles ferguson" and watch his comments during his appearance there last week...an hour full of extraordinary insight into Wall St and our financial woes ...— March 5, 2011 2:22 p.m.
Lerach: Don't Blame Public Union Members. Blame Wall Street
surfpuppy ... what do u tell a city of sd worker, who waived their right to soc sec when they signed up and put in 28 years?— March 2, 2011 8:20 p.m.
Lerach: Don't Blame Public Union Members. Blame Wall Street
surfpuppy...no doubt there are other Bell, California's out there ... but in the main, worker's pensions (and everyone's retirement promises) need to be protected ... when u consider Kasich, Gov of Ohio and how he and his Lehman Bros. colleagues helped take that state's pension fund over a cliff.... then google "pay to play pension" and see what has gone on in other states ... then check in with Andrew Cuomo and talk with him about the same... i don't think it is fair to rank a teacher, police office or fire fighter who put in their 25, 30 or 35 years or more with the major Wall St crooks that raped these funds and took millions in fees ... but if we start to see some municipalities or states default, it will all become moot— March 2, 2011 4:42 p.m.
Lerach: Don't Blame Public Union Members. Blame Wall Street
Amen, Mondo ... google "pay to play pension" and see the litany of bad actors out there ... the Wall St bankers and pvt equity firms that gained access to these funds and corrupted the process. Talk to Andrew Cumomo about this. Then see how the CA state fund lost $100 billion or 40% of its value in 2009!! This stuff doesn't happen by accident... sinful, to say the least ... http://governmentrico.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/ca…— March 2, 2011 9:51 a.m.
Lerach: Don't Blame Public Union Members. Blame Wall Street
surfpuppy...i think u need to read up on guys like Ohio Gov. Kasich and Hevesi...i don't think your "Wall St had nothing to do with how these pension funds are invested" comment is accurate. The predatory Big Money has overwhelmed the system...hell, it's overwhelmed the world when u look at the Trillions in worthless "crap" (to use the term of Goldman Sachs bankers" they've peddled.— March 1, 2011 7:26 p.m.
Lerach: Don't Blame Public Union Members. Blame Wall Street
you can blame public unions all u want ... the fact is that most, if not all, of these pension funds were 100% fully funded (or more) until Wall St got their mitts on them ... either thru cajoling, collusion, corruption, whatever u want to call it ... DB... if that is inaccurate, please let me know.— March 1, 2011 2:44 p.m.