Karen Lewis - Economic Genius
- The head of the Chicago Teachers Union is touting a tax on stock trades and other transactions to help close a pension gap without cutting benefits for retired teachers.
- She told the City Club of Chicago a LaSalle Street tax on buyers and sellers in financial transactions like stock sales and futures trading could bring in $11-12 billion to shore up pensions.
“The average contract size is more than $225,000. Under our proposal, the tax is less than .002 of a percent of the contract’s value. You and I pay more on our take-out orders at McDonald’s,” said Lewis.
- Lewis also proposed a commuter tax and a graduated state income tax. Her proposals aren’t new.
A transaction tax is illegal, according to the Mayor’s office. So would a tax on non-residents. The graduated state income tax failed last week in Springfield.
Addressing these in reverse order:
- the graduated tax failed, and no one is going to bring it up in an election year;
- a commuter tax will lead to more "telecommuters" not entering the city, not parking here, not spending money on food or shopping on lunch breaks;
- does Lewis realize that most trading is done by computers nowadays? The markets aren't tied to a building. Does anyone believe that the stock and futures trading people are going to sit by while $11-12 BILLION DOLLARS is siphoned off, when with a minimum of effort and a few phone calls, a virtual "trading floor" can be set up outside of Chicago, outside of Cook County, or even outside of Illinois?
And maybe Lewis missed it, but 50% of the people in Illinois want to leave Illinois, and almost one-out-of-five (19%) have plans to leave in the next twelve months. Any one of these measures would accelerate those plans and probably up the percentages.
Lewis's problem, and the problem of most leftists, is thinking that things remain static. That people don't change their behavior based on economic considerations. That they can just jack up tax rates, levy fees, propose all sorts of outlandish shit and there won't be any consequences. They're wrong, badly wrong, and continuing down this road will prove it, time and again, when Illinois can least afford these types of loses.
Lewis's problem, and the problem of most leftists, is thinking that things remain static. That people don't change their behavior based on economic considerations. That they can just jack up tax rates, levy fees, propose all sorts of outlandish shit and there won't be any consequences. They're wrong, badly wrong, and continuing down this road will prove it, time and again, when Illinois can least afford these types of loses.
Labels: money questions
posted by SCC at 12:05 AM
87 Comments:
Instead of taxing any more, stop the freebies. That would save billions
Leaked Documents Show How Blackstone Fleeces Taxpayers Via Public Pension Funds
Here are some excerpts from the article. Read it and weep:
When you think of the term “public pension fund,” you probably imagine hyper-cautious investment strategies kept in check by no-nonsense fiduciary laws.
But you probably shouldn’t.
An increasing number of those pension funds are being stealthily diverted into high-fee, high-risk “alternative investments” that deliver spectacular rewards for the Wall Street firms paid to manage them – but not such great returns for pensioners and taxpayers.
And yet… despite the fact that they deal with the expenditure of taxpayer money, the agreements between public pension systems and alternative investment firms are almost entirely secret.
Until now.
Thanks to confidential documents exclusively obtained by Pando, we can now see some of the language and fee structures in the agreements between the “alternative investment” industry and major public pension funds. Taken together, the documents raise serious questions about whether the government employees, trustees and politicians overseeing major public pension funds are shirking their fiduciary responsibilities under the law when they are cementing “alternative” investment deals.
The documents, which were involved in a recent SEC inquiry into the $14.5 billion Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS), were handed to us by SEC whistleblower Chris Tobe, an investment consultant and former trustee of the KRS. Tobe has also written a book — “Kentucky Fried Pensions” — about the scandalous state of the Kentucky public pensions system.
The documents provided by Tobe (embedded below) specifically detail Kentucky’s dealings with Blackstone – a giant Wall Street investment firm which has deployed a platoon of registered lobbyists in Kentucky and whose employees are major financial backers of Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R).
The Blackstone-related documents, though, don’t just tell a story about public pensions in Kentucky. The firm, which just reported record earnings, does business with states and localities across the country. The Wall Street Journal reports that “about $37 of every $100 of Blackstone’s $111 billion investment pool comes from state and local pension plans.”
In other documents, public pension money is exempted from some of the most basic protections usually guaranteed under federal law. Other contract language appears to license Blackstone to engage in financial conflicts of interests that could harm investors.
Despite the documents involving government agencies, and taxpayer money, they are all marked confidential. The public is not allowed to see them.
One of those documents given to Pando by Tobe is a confidential memo to KRS investment committee members from August 2011. In the memo, KRS staff outlines their desire to invest roughly $400 million in Blackstone’s Alternative Asset Management Fund (BAAM), which is a so-called “fund of hedge funds.”
more:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-05/leaked-documents-show-how-blackstone-fleeces-taxpayers-public-pension-funds
Pretty obviously not serious proposals.
Jabba the Teacher's Union President is a hardcore leftist, but it's still fun to see her smack Rahm around.
How about putting a wrestling match between Karen and Raccoon Eyes on cable tv. We could shore up all the pensions with the proceeds. Picture Karen tossing the midget all over the ring.
Raise the Cigarette tax make Indiana more money.
Karen Lewis is Cuckoo
Why would I want to pay more taxes to support some teachers' retirement? Teachers that on the whole do a lousy job of teaching and at the same time cost to much. Let them pay into their own retirement, or put most of their union dues toward retirement.
“The average contract size is more than $225,000. Under our proposal, the tax is less than .002 of a percent of the contract’s value. You and I pay more on our take-out orders at McDonald’s,” said Lewis.
I am guessing the price of her take-out order at McD's is a bit more than mine.
More than our union leader is doing. Haven't heard a word from our president since the day before election day.
Just look at California or Detroit.
These people are idiots !
Why do we elect them to run our government ?
Nothing new, every exchange now trades electronically. Tax the trades in Chicago and they flip a switch and do it somewhere else. There is no magic anymore in having a stock exchange or mercantile exchange in Chicago.
The margin on many of these high speed trades is very slim, tax them and the tax is larger than the profit. Will not work, it is too easy to go somewhere else.
Ask Perrywinkle how that plan to tax cigarettes to death is working out. Indiana and surrounding counties love it. Best way to increase Cook County tax revenues on tobacco is to lower the tax to below all surrounding counties. This will raise the income on sales and also sales of other things bought like gasoline, bread etc.
The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples' money.
Margaret Thatcher
And Chicago is running out of other people's money.
She is not the first to suggest taxing the trades conducted at the Cme. They have been getting huge tax breaks for years from politicians. Even a penny or less tax could fund pensions in no time.
A commuter tax?????
No way. Not unless EVERYONE gets to vote who the mayor is AND you cut down the size of Aldermen to 20. AND we know THAT ain't going to happen.
A commuter tax???? That's taxation without representation.
The state is BROKE. Start realizing that and start tightening your belts.
Teachers making six-figure pensions are way overpaid especially when you look at the damaged goods they "graduated" out of the CPS.
Better put in a different formula for figuring out what they get paid because laying out money for pensions the size of Lottery Jackpot payouts is OVER.
The solution?
Cap ALL government pensions at $75,000 MAX (both current retirees and future ones). That will put a big dent in the deficit.
Somehow "public servants" got changed to "public royalty" over the years.
It will boil down to this - take a cut, or take your chances as the state declares bankruptcy and ALL pensions are then re-calculated by what is left in the Treasury (which is NOTHING).
You might get a nickel or a dime on the dollar which when you make the calculation, it is a LOT less than $75,000.
This would NOT be the first time an organization lost major benefits for their people. Look at all the private sector companies where employees lost a LOT of benefits (as well as their money in corporate stocks and plans).
Actually it may be interesting to see these traders put up or shut up since they like to carry on so like they have such a stake in the city's future when there's tax payer treasure to put in THEIR pockets... Don't you peons DARE ask them to put something in the pot to keep public safety viable!
Just a thought from a different angle...
>Harrumph-Harrumph! By Jingo That's Utter Nonsense! Hey you there! Be a good lad and bring me a pepsin and some bitters for my agita! <
"Teachers that on the whole do a lousy job of teaching and at the same time cost to much." Please revise for punctuation errors and homophone confusion. What school did you attend?
At least she's fighting him.
Not saying these are all great proposals, but the financial "services" industry has been getting tongue baths from the Daley's and Rahm.
Why? Because the big money put them in office, wake up.
They are the ones driving the war on your pension.
I keep saying it. CUT CHA's $810 million budget to help fund pensions.
Im sorry, but unless your elderly or disabled no one should live rent free!!
Following up on some comments from yesterday, If a Democrat remains as governor, the floodgates will really open and more people will move out. We will be destined for a Detroit like outcome. How's that working out for those pensioners?
While I don't like Rauner, he's our only chance to start turning this state around. Cops in WI and IN still have pensions last time I checked.
I'm so tired of people not seeing the forest for the trees and being so short sighted to actually believe charging faster down the slippery slope we are on is a good idea. Wake up! We have problems that are not being fixed. How much of the temporary income tax increase went into our pension?
Karens Socialist leanings and the economics of crime....
Gary Becker, who won the Nobel Prize in 1992, died this weekend. He led an invasion of classical economic thought into previously sloppy areas of study such as sociology, demography, and crime. He studied human capital. Think of it this way: Without Becker, bestselling books like Freakonomics wouldn’t even be possible.
Prior to Becker, the academic study of these topics was dominated by social determinists (Karen Lewis) in general and Marxists in particular. So, for example, conventional wisdom held that people commit crime because of discrimination, overly strict fathers, capitalist oppression, or the exploitation of the working class.
Becker shoved all these simplistic (and unscientific) answers aside, applying the free-market principle that people have an incentive to pursue their self-interest not only as producers and earners but also outside the workplace.
To Becker, people commit crimes more often when they perceive that the benefits outweigh the costs. So, better policing to apprehend criminals and harsher sentences (talking to you Anita) would result in less crime because they raise the potential costs of crime. To Becker, becoming a predator was a choice, like becoming an engineer, or a bus driver, or a politician (known as predators in some circles)
Not sure why people still think she is a great leader. Yes, she calls out Rham on TV and her antics play well on TV, but her last contract was a terrible deal for teachers. Longer day for no extra pay, seniority or tenure means nothing now and they are closing more schools and turning them into Charters - plus she never got the 4% raise they took away right before this latest contract. Plus you have to stay forever to collect a full pension age / tenure wise. Teachers had the upper hand when they walked out, only to walk back in with a worse deal.
To 12:31am-
Alternative Investments are long accepted as a means to add diversification and lower risk. The Yale endowment is 70% alternatives. Think they are complaining about fees? Yes they have higher costs. I'll take that all day over bonds that are poised for sub par returns as interest rates rise or overvalued stocks and their associated volatility.
You, my friend, are barking up the wrong tree.
Aaaaaand leftist govenments tend to steal tax revenue. Ie Maggie Daley Park
First start cutting all those entitlements way to many people living off everybody else work or get out!
Next start getting rid of the lifetime politicians 2 terms and out NO golden pensions for them you pass a law you are included NO exceptions! You spend public Monday every contract and deal must be made public NO sweetheart closed private deals! Start sending some of these bankers and investment firm CEO'S to jail we bailed them out now they want your pension money to blow! Ah crap I can go on and on but somebody's knocking at the door I think it's Rahms secret police coming to get me!
Major corps. In Chicago have been holding "meetings" with top earners who live here about the IL tax situation. Lots of tax cash cows are looking at WI and IN. These are the 6 figure/7figure men and women partners, CEO, CFO and the like who are running firms that hire hundreds of thousands of people locally and their companies are giving them the option to commute or look to relocate the whole dog and pony show elsewhere because Chicago and IL are crumbling.
Ha. Mike "Crazy Eyes" Shields was on our pension board....
Here's a thought for Karen Lewis: Get all your CPS teachers (and their CPS administrators) to move back into the city to help with Chicago's economy, not Napervilles, Alsips, Arlington Heights, Auroras, Berwyns, Schaumburgs, Evanstons, Elmhursts, Oak Parks, Burbanks, Indiana & Wisconsin towns, etc.
Right now, there's 22,519 CPS teachers (with 49.7% or 11,191 of them being white) making an average salary of $74,839/yr. (and their administrators averaging $120,659/yr.)
http://www.cps.edu/about_cps/at-a-glance/pages/stats_and_facts.aspx
Out of those 22,519, anywhere from 0%-20% (0-4503) of them live outside of Chicago.
$74,839 X 4503 = $336,775,500
WOW! Anywhere from $0-$336M in CPS teacher salaries could be going to non-Chicago residents.
Let's be fair, 25%-30% (1125-1350) of those non-Chicagoan, CPS teacher salaries could be going to those grandfathered-in with the old CPS Residency Policy, a policy which allows any CPS teachers hired before November 20, 1996 to live anywhere they please.
So, that leaves anywhere from 0 to 3153-3378 CPS teachers living outside Chicago either on residency waivers or by bucking the system because CPS Investigations (James Sullivan, Scott Nelson) is picking/choosing who they go after for residency violations.
That's $0 to $236M-$252M/yr. in CPS teacher salaries going to non-Chicago residents.
Speak of elephants in the room Karen, this a huge ONE!!!
Why would I want to pay more taxes to support some teachers' retirement? Teachers that on the whole do a lousy job of teaching and at the same time cost to much. Let them pay into their own retirement, or put most of their union dues toward retirement.
ummm, they do, its called a pension...but, just like the police and fire dept. the city has NOT contributed their legally required share..or they have stolen it. you fucking moron!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally an honest post about Karen Lewis. She is a commie disaster. She will not be happy until every last cent is drained out of Chicago and we are in Federal bankruptcy court like Detroit.
Put down the big girl!
cmon!
Dean DA FOP is still trying to figure out how to get 2 sergeant off the board!
Learning curve is short and the big girl is hellfire.
Karen is not a math jenius (yes with a J) what do expect head of cps union, like the head of cps byrd Bennett, no skills in math or simple economics.
karen lewis is already banging the war drums for another strike next year--- big pile of poo poo if tiny dancer has this on his plate in an election year--- 480,000 mostly minority children at home again because of a labor impasse will be the death blow to rahmpoleon and his reign of financial mismanagement....
The transaction tax sounds like the Stamp Act.
Karen has chunks of McDonald's carry out in her stool!
I am sure she pays more than that at McDonald's. Look at the size of her.
Now, kees me you fool!!!!
I often hear teachers tout on how valuable they are, and they are correct in that assessment. I also often hear that they feel that they are underpaid for what they do and the education that they must have for their jobs. Maybe that is also true. But, the reality of it all is that college degrees are a dime a dozen, even graduate degrees holders are underemployed. People are at their limit in paying taxes and just do not want to see them go higher just to pay public employees whom they view as having great pay and benefits, far beyond the private sector. I think about this everytime I pay my taxes and see that 60% go for education, that is they go for pay and benefits for educators. Times are tough and all will hve to take a haircut. The teachers union was complacent when money was drained from their pension fund and they also failed to negotiate for anything but pay and benefits. The school system exists for the adults, not the children. Strikes by public employees should be illegal in this state.
Anonymous said...
"I am guessing the price of her take-out order at McD's is a bit more than mine."
_________
Went to public school, didn't you? That's $4.50 tax on a $225,000 trade. I am against the tax but I'd rather see that than higher property taxes on my tiny in-Chicago-because-I-have-to-live-here ranch house.
All jokes aside, the point of unions is solidarity. If you rip on the teachers until they go down(and CTU isn't long for this world, that's for sure) and the other unions get picked off one by one who's left in solidarity when CPD has to fight? We're snarking over crumbs at Emmanuel's table and more, we're dumb enough to KEEP fighting each other while he and his cronies feast.
dumb. dumb. dumb.
She don't eat Mickey D's the meals are too small its Harold's 64 piece hold her off to her next meal.. TAX THAT!!!!!
Very well written intro, SCC!
Because of you and your blog, I think we actually might have a chance of surviving the infection that is liberalism.
So as someone who doesn't have kids and is a pissed off taxpayer, I like to see teachers complaining about them not being paid enough when graduation rates are piss poor. I can't wait to move.
“The average contract size is more than $225,000. Under our proposal, the tax is less than .002 of a percent of the contract’s value. You and I pay more on our take-out orders at McDonald’s,” said Lewis.
Well, she does look like could eat about $450 worth of McDonald's takeout.
"You and I pay more on our take-out orders at McDonald’s,” said Lewis.
I'm pretty sure Lewis's order at Mickey D's would cost far more than mine. "I'll have 20 Big Macs, and a 5-gallon bucket of french fries. And I want that bucket full up to the top, not like last time, or I'll ooze over this counter and engulf you! Oh, and just hook the Coke machine up to my IV port for 10 minutes."
Good info SCC. Folks want to RUN from this city and state let alone being Pushed Out on top of it by bad management and bad taxing bodies.
She and her vice-president regularly attend conferences on Marxism. No matter how many countries communism wrecks, they will never get it. Always about other people's wealth, and how to redistribute it.
You need to read the book Flash Boys.
These "computer" traders are front running your deferred comp and our pension whenever you buy into the market. Every time you put in a pension payment or invest in deferred comp, they are pushing your price higher because they are buying a millisecond before you and selling a millisecond after you buy.
There is nothing wrong with putting them out of business with a tiny transaction tax.
Here is one answer: TIF money.
She is just worried about her teachers. Couldn't care less about the other pension funds. If that transaction tax was approved she would want all the proceeeds to go to the teachers pension(which we as citizens are paying 7 or their 9% employee contribution)
For the children you knw and the fine job the CPS is doing.
Kass and others have gone through piles of examples of how the Rahm & Daley antics have infuriated the very same voters who elected these two putz. Yet the voice of Karen Lewis somehow makes the big news. It's good to hear some rhetoric about how Rahm will be put in his place. Or at least his 20 member public relations staff will be on their toes to ward off the evil she'll cast. How well did M. Shields put Rahms feet to the fire, hmmm?
It's fun to watch and listen Lewis box the Clown.
I work security at a CPS elementary school. Today 3 CPS "officials" and a guest came to our school. THEY WERE DRIVEN by what looked like another CPD off-duty in a newer Crown Vic with M plates. He sat outside in the car waiting while they toured the school.
Everyday, our school kids throw away hundreds of dollars of food they are given 2-3 times/day. My point is the waste within the school system is incredible be it reams of paper, utilities, perfectly good computers just thrown in dumpsters, clothing, bookbags, etc. If Karen is looking for extra $$ then CPS should start from within.
By the way, I'll bet Karen's McDonalds bill is pretty sizeable.
Raise the Cigarette tax make Indiana more money.
...No just tax smokers not cigarettes
And when the 19 % leave guess who will follow them.
They can start with a pilot program that taxes only transactios made by the teacher's pension fund.
This post reminds me gas tank is almost empty. Time to drive a few miles to Hammond where gas is 50 cents a gallon cheaper.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
More than our union leader is doing. Haven't heard a word from our president since the day before election day.
5/06/2014 02:17:00 AM
He hasn't stopped laughing yet.
City needs another. Jane Byrne for Mayor .
Maybe a Miriam santos , periwinkle
You want the answer to all the economic problems in Chicago? Use the tif funds and put a 3 year limit on welfare benefits. Just saved billions.
Watch how fast the Board of Trade would pull up its stakes and leave for greener pastures.....the commission the traders make on a transaction is $1....she wants to add $2 for this bs school system that has every government entity feeding it??? How about the TIF funds Karen? Oh wait, you probably already get a nice cut from that.....dumb proposal....move on to something else...
Times are tough and all will hve to take a haircut.
*********
So exactly WHAT haircut do YOU intend to take buddy?
Thought so... only public employees are supposed to take a haircut.
When the tax diversion and outright theft of taxpayer dollars in Chicago has been eliminated THEN we'll take a look at whether or not pensions can be paid for.
Until then, you can all pound sand with your "haircut" bullshit. Try getting a better job or making your boss pay you more before you do their bidding by demanding everyone in the world takes it up the ass for the "good" of everyone else.
Why would I want to pay more taxes to support some teachers' retirement? Teachers that on the whole do a lousy job of teaching and at the same time cost to much. Let them pay into their own retirement, or put most of their union dues toward retirement.
ummm, they do, its called a pension...but, just like the police and fire dept. the city has NOT contributed their legally required share..or they have stolen it. you fucking moron!!!!!!!!!!!!
Actually they do not completely pay towards their pension. They have a 9% contribution,BUT the CPS(our tax money) pays 7 of that 9%.
So in reality they pay only 2% towards their pension. I would be happy with no pay raise this year if the city paid 7% of my salary every year towards my pension instead of me having to pay it.
Anonymous said...
Why would I want to pay more taxes to support some teachers' retirement? Teachers that on the whole do a lousy job of teaching and at the same time cost to much. Let them pay into their own retirement, or put most of their union dues toward retirement.
5/06/2014 01:27:00 AM
That is the attitude of the typical officer. To hell with everyone else. They pay into their retirement the same as you do. A teacher in a Chicago public school is paid too much? Just like a beat officer in the city? And you blame teachers for not teaching public school students? Just like officers that cannot stop and prevent crime? Teachers main concern in school is safety from gang members and ignorant or non-existing parents to help their children. You sir, are a idiot, ignorant of the truth.
You need to read the book Flash Boys.
These "computer" traders are front running your deferred comp and our pension whenever you buy into the market. Every time you put in a pension payment or invest in deferred comp, they are pushing your price higher because they are buying a millisecond before you and selling a millisecond after you buy.
There is nothing wrong with putting them out of business with a tiny transaction tax.
5/06/2014 11:34:00 AM
Wow!!!!!!
Do understand that the Internet is not based in Chicago? Is it also beyond your depth to understand that once you put the"them" out of business there will be nothing to tax?
Make cps students use link cards to pay for breakfast and lunch.
Touche, for the poster at 7:06 PM bashing the ignorant coppers bashing the teachers. Everybody reads these posts, and I'm glad. I'm a 28 year copper. Stop bashing each other you a--holes. Yea, you know who the a--holes are, there are many among us. I'm a conservative CPD copper, but screw those investment/financial types. Karen Lewis is not far off. The transaction fees can be legal and would fund all our pensions, Karen, not just teachers
I'd like to say, SSC blog is the best thing to happen to this city! Everybody reads it; gang bangers, other union types, politicians, citizens, the piece of shit lying news outlets, everybody! We surrender to tiny dancer rahm's tactics. He is going to destroy all of our benefits, best and easiest way to save city financially, we DON'T VOTE, so he doesn't care about us. We deserve everything happening to us, if we don't get involved politically. We can continue to sound like un-educated assholes, or we can do something about shit head rahm. Oh, about the useless citizens on all kinds of assistance, that won't change soon, THERE ARE NO JOBS, just dope selling, which the government allows to occur, for example, cutting our numbers from approx. 10,000 Officers to approx. 7,000 Officers. Do something about it, instead of always crying.
..........
Until then, you can all pound sand with your "haircut" bullshit. Try getting a better job or making your boss pay you more before you do their bidding by demanding everyone in the world takes it up the ass for the "good" of everyone else.
5/06/2014 04:50:00 PM
-------------------------------
Wow - are YOU living in a dream world.
What do you think has happened in the last decade, Moron?
Everyone else HAS taken a big haircut in their pay and benefits or don't you talk to your neighbors? Do you read anything besides Archie comics?
Oh, I know.... you live in an "all-city employee" neighborhood. YOU have no clue as to what has been going on in the private sector in Illinois.
There has been a Tsunami of job losses, benefit cuts AND pay stagnation for the last decade. Companies have moved out of Chicago and/or have hired cheap, foreign workers to replace those working who are US citizens (the taxpayers who pay YOUR salary and benefits)
Better wake up from "dream land" and face the facts that the Tsunami is now crashing in on your pay and benefits.
Then you can follow your OWN advice by "try finding a better job" - which you won't be able to with YOUR limited skill sets and will wind up taking a job at 50% less pay (or more).
Part-time cops on suburban forces get paid $15-$18 an hour. Try living your "high" lifestyle on that. Good luck.
You can always work security at Wal-Mart or Home Depot but again - it will only be PART-time, no benefits.
I cannot believe how out-of-touch and clueless some of you people are.
Start reading about the economy while you're eating a donut at Huck Finn's.
That is the attitude of the typical officer. To hell with everyone else. They pay into their retirement the same as you do. A teacher in a Chicago public school is paid too much? Just like a beat officer in the city? And you blame teachers for not teaching public school students? Just like officers that cannot stop and prevent crime? Teachers main concern in school is safety from gang members and ignorant or non-existing parents to help their children. You sir, are a idiot, ignorant of the truth.
Excellent post... Except the idiot part, the correct term is a fuckin moron.
So very tired of hearing that tag line “for the children.” It has been used by so many politicians as a basis for slamming taxpayers and folks who paid into retirement systems that I wince whenever I hear it anymore. It is never used to support cuts to free services or giveaway programs to those who contribute nothing or to benefit the uber rich. When I was a kid - just Dad worked and we made out OK. No free bus rides to school. We walked or took our bikes. No free lunches or milk. Mom made us our lunch and we put it in a brown bag. Milk was available if you wanted it, Mom and Dad gave you 10 cents for a carton. After school programs were available, like scouts and little league but Mom and Dad paid for the outings, equipment and they found a way to get you there. If you decided to have kids you took on the responsibility of caring for them yourself. Not looking to the taxpayer to support everything your child needed. Mom and Dad often could not do things they may have wanted but THEY decided to make sacrifices for their children. What has happened to personal responsibility. What happened to personal pride in providing for and being there for your family.
Teachers need to be contributing to their pensions and the government needs to stop skipping its contributions. It is not that hard to figure out. Oh yeah, and neither the skipped contributions by government nor the lack of personal contributions by teachers was "for the children."
She is just worried about her teachers. Couldn't care less about the other pension funds.
----
This is because she is president of the TEACHERS UNION, not the city employees of Chicago union. Oh, yeah, we are one started falling apart because city started making back door deals with all the other unions. She is charged with the interest of the teachers. FOP is always welcome to join in on the fun, but the new president needs to start working on a strategy.
Anonymous said...
More than our union leader is doing. Haven't heard a word from our president since the day before election day.
5/06/2014 02:17:00 AM
So,you'd rather have a progressive communist in office,right?
You must be a party-line Democrat.
The geniuses in leadership of the CTU are also pushing for a city income tax. If people are fleeing Chicago right now, wait until a city income tax is imposed. Other than neighborhoods full of illegal immigrants and welfare kings and queens, Chicago would be a ghost town.
Oh, and for those of you bashing teachers, well, there is much truth to what you say. I can't stand Karen Lewis and the CTU, and there are plenty of overpaid teachers doing a shitty job. HOWEVER, look at the "families" of the CPS "students". With many of these kids, the best teaching in the world isn't going to help much.
The reality is that Chicago has become a third-world shithole, and as I write this, I'm so thankful I moved a long way from Chicago and Illinois. A wiser man than me communicated this truth: "You can't have a first-world nation with a third-world population." In the case of Chicago, I'd say, "You can't have a first world city with a third-world population."
I'd like to say, SSC blog is the best thing to happen to this city! Everybody reads it; gang bangers, other union types, politicians, citizens, the piece of shit lying news outlets, everybody! We surrender to tiny dancer rahm's tactics. He is going to destroy all of our benefits, best and easiest way to save city financially, we DON'T VOTE, so he doesn't care about us. We deserve everything happening to us, if we don't get involved politically. We can continue to sound like un-educated assholes, or we can do something about shit head rahm. Oh, about the useless citizens on all kinds of assistance, that won't change soon, THERE ARE NO JOBS, just dope selling, which the government allows to occur, for example, cutting our numbers from approx. 10,000 Officers to approx. 7,000 Officers. Do something about it, instead of always crying.
Speaking of either uneducated or uninformed, there are a little over 12,000 sworn personnel on the CPD. I know, you are right, the pension board and clear are wrong about the 12,000 figure.
Hey 1249 am poster. We read Crains, Wall Street Journal, watch the news, but we are also out on the streets talking to the good and bad citizens of Chicago, almost every day, on average 25 years. The fu--ing, lousy, un-educated business wise politicians are not only screwing up this city, but the state and country. We will still get the benefits we are fighting for, if not this city will burn from the savages. The savages see and know what is going on, that is why they are creeping towards your neighborhood. Facts are the savages have grown bigger balls and are wilding almost every day in the higher rent areas. They can hit one store on Rush St. (designer) with approx. 20 savages and make off with $10,000.00 worth of items.
This post has excellent information about how the financial companies are trying to fleece the public pensions. We as PO's (including cpts., lts., and sgts)have heard this time and time again. What are we doing about it, not much. We can't even get our lazy asses to register to vote, where those numbers can be analyzed. Wake up people!! Oh, by the way, I heard our notorious FOP president is doing what Shields was doing. Angelo is already trying to dump our elected FOP officers, so he can bring in friends to get captains pay!!! Angelo, we are watching, and will show up at the next FOP meeting to cut your balls off when you pull this kind of shit!!!
People, wake the f--k up before it's too late. Now would be good. You no timers will be hurt the most. Show up for FOP meetings and make a difference.
"Went to public school, didn't you? That's $4.50 tax on a $225,000 trade. I am against the tax but I'd rather see that than higher property taxes on my tiny in-Chicago-because-I-have-to-live-here ranch house."
In all fairness, it wasn't a stretch to read that as .002 percent rather than .002 of 1%. Sometimes people read a bit too quickly; it's not necessarily indicative of their education.
How did we get to this point??
Accumulated problems over the last 30 years - some of which YOU could have changed some of which was foisted on you.
You VOTED for the wrong people - again and again and again.
You didn't vote for anyone - again and again and again.
You voted for clout "wink-wink", get me a job, get me a promotion, promise me the world in pay and pension.
You bought off on "the Party will take care of you".
Across the same time, "the Party" took care of themselves.
Across the same time, "the Party" took care of all of its cherished voters - NOT YOU - they couldn't count on you coming out to vote.
They counted on all those they handed out all the freebies to.
Across the same time, all those who got into the "freebie" programs got more and more as they came out to re-elect their "Party for the People".
So now, the people who get all the freebies have overrun all your neighborhoods - YET YOU STILL VOTE THE SAME PROMISERS IN.
Who is going to get the cutbacks first???? The politicians ? In your dreams!! The ones depending on all the freebies??? No way - can't have riots.
So YOU are going to get the cutbacks, the shaved down salaries, etc.
THAT is the reality of all this.
Karen Lewis better find ways ASAP to help with the pension crisis or more retirees will turn to stealing to augment their pensions, like the one did below in Glenview, IL below:
Prosser Career Academy High School Substitute Teacher, Barbara Baier (67) Arrested for Retail Theft in Glenview.
http://glenview.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/drivers-arrested-for-dui-and-other-offenses
Can someone post the specifics of her arrest and link to a mugshot?
Bill Bill Bill just go away. If things aren't better in the next three years then run and say I told you so. At least let us wait a couple of months before you declare Dean a failure. Remember you didn't say a word about two and half years of Shields failures until it was politically expidient for you, Saul, Franky D, Rich and Dan the man Gorman. Then you stabbed Mike in the back and declared yourself King. I'll meet you at the meeting honey.
So,you'd rather have a progressive communist in office,right?
You must be a party-line Democrat.
Huh? You think too much
Damn how the Fuck do you spend 4500 at the golden arches
The teachers don't make 100% of their own contributions - CPS makes 7% of the 9% that goes in, so the 2% is paid by the teachers, the other 7% by the taxpayers.
The only people Jabba has to blame are her own Union actuary's. They ought to have been pitching a fit about jacked up estimates of returns, or failure to make the payments.
But they didn't. So they waited, and fucked around and now here we are all these years later, with the early retirees and COLA adjustments coming home to roost, and there's not enough money. So in the Dumbocrat world, they decide to tax someone else to fix their fuck up.
Well SOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRY fat ass, but it's not going to work. Everyone in IL already took it in the dark side from Gov Potatohead with his 'temporary' tax hike to pay the bills (that never got paid). And this transaction tax will juse make the Merc move out of State.
Which means all the traders, and their money will move out of State too. Want to see the North Shore go to shit in about 30 seconds? Watch the property values drop like rocks all over as these people with means flee this sinking rat hole of a ship?
The solution for the pension fuckup is for the teachers to fund their own 9%, and to manage their own money. As they make more than $50K, they ought to get LESS put into their pensions by the public because they're no longer making low salaries that deserve an old age support from the tax payers as a thank you.
No COLA's - no guaranteed returns. You get what you get on interest, and if you don't like it - manage it yourself with all the attendant risks.
The current scheme is a ponzi scam and it's coming to a head. It's gotta stop so we can GROW out of this mess.
They always think they can just steal more from the productive people and businesses. All they do is drive both out of the state or into being unproductive.
If they increase the income tax again I'll have little choice outside of leaving the state or becoming a politician. ;)
I have to cringe every time the democrats use the terms, " for the children", and " pay your fair share". When these terms are used it usually means increased taxes and increased spending and increased pay and benefits for teachers. They have great jobs and great benefits. Teachers think because they have a college degree they are invaluable, over educated and underpaid. Teachers need to check out what is going on in the private sector. I say bust the teachers union with new state laws. If they think they can do better in the private sector then start looking.
Karen Lewis is a walking monstrosity that embodies everything that is corrupt in Chicago.
This whole idea that we can SPEND our way to better schools is laughable. On its face, laughable. You could give this woman the entire budget of the city, hell, the state of Illinois to run the CPS and it still wouldn't be enough.
Horrible, horrible, horrible woman.
SpankDaddy cannot, nor will not, help her.
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