General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis Detroit story on the retirees losing there pensions is fucked up
These retirees didn't pay into Social Security and have nothing to live on but there pensions.http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/03/1259824/-Breaking-Judge-Rules-Detroit-Pension-Benefits-Subject-to-Theft-by-Bankruptcy
KansDem
(28,498 posts)We've kept in contact over the last 40 years.
He didn't pay (very much) into SS either. He worked all his life in California and has a good pension through his teachers' union. The only SS he receives, which is only a few hundred $$ a month, he paid into teaching summer school, other employment outside of teaching (he is a musician who performed in professional ensembles), and other non-teaching/non-music jobs.
His monthly pension provides him with what he needs to live on. If he lost his pension, he'd be in dire straits.
One can only imagine what the pensioners of Detroit must be feeling...
joeglow3
(6,228 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)loli phabay
(5,580 posts)Its not as if they would be destroyed.
KansDem
(28,498 posts)Selling works of art to One Percenters looking for an "investment" who should have been paying higher taxes in the first place seems illogical.
But then, "trickle down" was a lie...
frazzled
(18,402 posts)So let's reserve judgment on what will happen. What is clear is that no pensioner is going to lose their pension entirely, so let's not pretend their pensions are being wiped out. Here's an article from the Detroit Free Press that outlines the possibilities
http://www.freep.com/article/20131203/NEWS01/312030138/Detroit-bankruptcy-Orr-pensions-cuts-plan-of-adjustment
■ Orr might shield the citys oldest and poorest retirees and cut deeper into the pensions of younger, somewhat better off retirees.
■ He might impose the cuts equally across the board but phase them in over a number of years, in effect offering a measure of protection for older retirees.
■ He might cap pension payments at some basic amount, requiring cuts only to those getting the biggest retirement checks.
■ Orr could leave pensions for current retirees relatively intact but impose deeper cuts on the active workers who remain years short of retirement age.
■ He might impose smaller cuts on the citys retired police and firelighters because their pension fund, the Police & Fire Retirement System, is in somewhat better shape than the General Retirement System fund for the citys non-uniformed retirees.