DOOOOOOOOOM … Pensions and Public finance roundup 23Jan2011

23Jan/110

DOOOOOOOOOM … Pensions and Public finance roundup 23Jan2011

So I hear from my ma that some football game is on right now, which seems like the perfect time for a MASSIVE LINK DUMP! I will not dump Illinois links right now... [my ma tells me that Chicago is sucking and it's halftime - so it will be extra chocolatey schadenfreude tomorrow, eh?]

I'm not even bothering with a narrative right now. I'm just doing a bulleted list. Some of these date back to December [or maybe earlier], but given the long-term issues of public finance and public pensions, that's just a second in that world.

Mish on Prichard and other possible pension bankruptcies .. ok, I lied - he talks about Illinois. It's kind of hard to avoid given that it may be the first to implode.
But John Bury thinks New Jersey will implode first. More from Bury on NJ pensions.
When the money runs out, people start leaving the Golden State. Gonna be hard the squeeze the taxpayers when they're not there any more.
Wretchard on the same issue of California going Greek
and Wretchard's piece was in reaction to Victor Davis Hanson, longtime Californian, writing on same
I have no clue what's going on in Pittsburgh. It seems to me that they don't either. More on the Pittsburgh situation.
More California stupidity - continuing the public employee hires in the face of huge pension shortfalls
Gov. Rick Scott of Florida shoots out a pension warning -[good news, Rick! I bet you're not as bad as Illinois...] Of course, some people disagree with Scott.
New governors giving public unions a warning on reality
A bit on the University of California execs who had gotten a bit uppity at a bad time. A little more on this - they got rejected. And more on that.
Some Rhode Island pension stuff - to wit, some pols realize that special pol pensions are unpopular
Some private pension savings confiscation, courtesy of Europe
That's partly why I'm not into privatization of Social Security. As per Tom Sowell's column on the Ponzi nature of SocSec, I bet they'd confiscate any "private savings" in such a program.
New Jersey starved the pension beast? Uh, I don't think so.
Eeenteresting. NYC Comptroller scrubbed a meeting b/c someone had separately stated NYC pensions were too piggy? More from the WSJ.
Wah wah wah. Maryland's pension problem not workers' fault. Guess what guys? Doesn't matter. If it's unaffordable, it's unaffordable. Doesn't matter who's to blame.
Oh Lord. Headline: Jacksonville Pension Director Says He Can Earn 8% ROI And There Won't Be A Solvency Crisis. I don't think I need to comment further.
Public pension boot camp for California pols
Rating agency Fitch comments on the state of public plans in the U.S.
Some more of the wahmbulance for public workers. That said, there are some good ideas at the end.
A guide for conservatives on how to talk about public plans. I really don't agree, but whatever. No time to argue on this.
The narrative: all the governors have budget worries. The payoff: bailouts? Ha.
Some stuff on California pensions in court.
Yet another proposed federal fix to public pensions. Good luck with that. This is Darrel Issa proposing it, and while I like the proposed bill, I don't see it getting past Obama, and I don't see Reid allowing it to see the floor of the Senate.
Not pensions, but even worse on a short term basis: the states' Medicaid mess
Stupid thought of the month: no, retirement age should be lowered, not raised!

Ok, halftime is probably over by now. But the Jets aren't playing yet, and we know that's the only game that matters.

Meep

Meep is a member of the Irish Catholic mafia, having a suspiciously high number of green-eyed, red-haired friends. While she doesn’t have red hair herself [except when she goes into the sun (rare for any vampire)], she does have green eyes. She’s a raving Papist and is a life actuary on the side [i.e., she counts dead people]. An amateur pain-in-the-ass [willing to go pro!], she likes covering retirement, mortality, math, and education issues.