The Pension Hole for U.S. Cities and States Is the Size of Japan’s Economy

Re:The Pension Hole for U.S. Cities and States Is the Size o... by rayiner on Monday July 30, 2018 @05:44PM (#17648365)

> Instead of asking why they have no pensions they seek to equalize status by falsely believing we can't afford any sort of pension.

More accurately: we can't afford the pensions we've promised with the taxes we're willing to pay. It's not a normative argument but a descriptive one.

And within the American free market, there is little incentive for people to pay more taxes to close that gap. Why pay more taxes to Illinois--and not get any increased public services from those taxes, because the money is going to people who have already retired--when you can move to Tennessee or Texas and pay less?

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Re:The Pension Hole for U.S. Cities and States Is the Size o... by sykhic on Monday July 30, 2018 @06:04PM (#17648544)

I believe at some point in time California and other wealthy states will want to secede. They are subsidizing the poorer states and at some point they may question the benefits of the union.

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Re:The Pension Hole for U.S. Cities and States Is the Size o... by harryh on Monday July 30, 2018 @08:06PM (#17649423)

California would have a HUGE water problem if they left the US. That alone is pretty much a deal breaker.

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Re:The Pension Hole for U.S. Cities and States Is the Size o... by sykhic on Monday July 30, 2018 @08:25PM (#17649524)

Countries do make agreeements on water usage. Even countries that don't like each other. Like Pakistan and India.

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