Blame Game Rebuttal
Sent to us by a reader who says it was sent to him:
- With the news of the courts upholding the state pension agreement, I like the way private sector non-union, non city/state workers cry how it's unfair that a portion of their taxes are going to the pensions of current and future retirees...
Where's the outcry for your taxes going to the countless welfare mooches that Don't and refuse to find meaningful employment?? Why are workers who made a contractual agreement with the government years ago your enemy? How would you like it after 20-40 years of employment (if you could stay with one company that long in the private sector) the company just changed the rules of your beloved 401K leaving you with a fraction of what you were expecting or nothing at all? You at least can collect Social Security...I can't.
I've said it before... If anybody is jealous or hateful of careers that promise a pension, guess what? You could have applied for these jobs too... Positions of Police officer, Firefighter, Garbage worker, Streets and San have all been hiring over the years...did you submit an application? Did you prepare for the power test? No. Maybe they weren't glamorous enough, maybe you were chasing that million-dollar-a-year career, maybe you laughed at the idea because "Fuck the police" or "I'm not paying into a union"... For many I know, the ability to get high on weed and/or do other drugs took importance over the thought of cleaning up your act and staying drug-free for 20+ years.
When that promise of an exciting life-long- career as a coffee barista or warehouse worker doesn't work out as you planned, don't go attacking public service positions because of their pensions, remember, you had that choice once upon a time. Workers in these pensioned careers have ALL contributed their "fair share" to the pension system, along with paying taxes like you, it's the politicians who misused the money THEY were supposed to contribute, if they had contributed as planned this shortfall wouldn't even be an issue.... Yet our public servants are the enemy because they one day expect the meager income they signed up for and what was promised to them???
I hope you were wise and financially savvy enough to make better financial choices with your retirement money than the politicians made with mine...
That seems to cover quite a bit of it.
Labels: pension
posted by SCC at 12:05 AM
107 Comments:
Amen my brother/sister! Now send this to every news outlet available. The fop should print this in every major newspaper around!
Believe it or not, there are those of us in the private sector who continually complain to our elected politicians and vote accordingly. And there are those in the private sector who aren't pot smokers (believe it or not) and who opted for a private sector job because it was a way to learn different skills.
I understand the tone behind this forwarded email, but I just found it rather insulting.
Don't forget all the corporate welfare and the TIF slush fund.
If they get the power to take away public employee pensions, then they can do anything . How could you trust a government who promised its workers something and then takes it away after their own mistakes?
Off topic
2 officers killed in Mississippi.
If anybody is jealous or hateful of careers that promise a pension, guess what? You could have applied for these jobs too...
-----------------------------------
WHOOOOOAAA......
I could have applied?!?!?
I could have applied and my application would have been put into the "Who's he?" file.
Whoever wrote this compelling letter forgot one HUGE thing - especially if you're talking about Chicago-based "government" jobs.
Chicago is a Cloutocracy. You have to know someone - and then you get the job.
And as far as all those other "infractions" (taking drugs) or limitations (power test), doesn't matter if someone sent you.
This whole blog is covered with threads talking and complaining about clout and merit promotions and "who is your Chinaman?" if you want the "better jobs" like at the Airport, SWAT, K-9, and every other "cush job".
How many hundreds of posts focus on - "Hey, I didn't get mine because I don't have clout"?
Or, just the opposite: "Hey, they got theirs because they have clout." I scored high on the Sergeant's test - how come I didn't get promoted?
If you are old enough, you knew about the Lieutenant's test that was a Scam. Many good Sergeants got cheated out of a promotion. (Wasn't Northside affected by that?)
So let's be real here, SCC, - the chances of someone getting into CPD, CFD, and CPS depends a lot on who you know and not as much as what you know.
That "Clout" equation increases in value geometrically when it comes to getting promoted in the system(s) - CFD, CPD, and CPS.
Go back and add up how many threads you yourself started on unfair promotions, "merit lists" and other clear cases of "it's who you know in Chicago" - not what you know.
Having said that, as for the average working copper - I have no negatives as to that person getting a pension.
Especially one who didn't get any of the "better jobs" they took tests for, scored high on, and then were replaced on the list with some average to dumb-ass doofus who had more clout.
ALL the pensions need reform. Maybe they need a ceiling. ($80,000? - That would NOT effect most people - only the ones who scammed the system.)
Goldbraid pensions? Inflated teachers' pensions (going for a degree at the last minute - just to get into a better pay lane - not to teach any better) and all those others who double-dip and get two pensions instead of one. ANY pension over $100,000 - that area needs reform.
No one is denying you a pension, but no one can afford to give people pensions the size of Lottery Jackpot payouts.
Not a LEO, JAFO
Can choice C of "of angry at the machine that pissed away the pension funds and angry at the jackasses who abuse the system by taking 2, 3 or 4 pensions" be an option? That's what everyone should be mad about.
I hope you all collect all of your pensions. Unfortunately I do not think you are going to collect everything promised.
But you are not going to collect it all. Not because of me, or mine. What is going to prevent it is called MATH. There is just not enough money in Chicago to support all the promises.
"The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money."
-M. Thatcher
Chicago is running out of other people's money.
-Me
The unions should handle the pension funds obviously the city can't handle it.
And yet there is no mention of the multiple pensions the politicians have enabled themselves to receive.
People are surprised when they find out how much we contribute to our pension. They think it's a gimmee.
It's also part of the commie plot to chase private employers out from over taxation, regulation and token punishment of criminals, in order to keep the worthless that way, and voting demonrat to get gov. handouts.
I'm a 36 year retired Cop- I stopped at a bar in Indiana, where I now live, the other day. I was introduced to some guy at the bar, and when the TV announcer mentioned IL pensions, he who started bitching about the "inflated pensions of Cops bankrupting the state of IL".
I then explained that it was the politicians who declared "Pension Holidays", where they didn't bother putting their share that caused the current debacle, he was astounded. He said he'd never heard that, which I explained was exactly what the Democratic media in IL wanted him NOT to hear.
And we're the bad guys- the people who had our pensions taken out of our checks for all those years?
With the exception of the teachers union, everyone I know blames the politicians. I don't know of anyone who blames the workers, even the teachers. What I think your missing is that this change reflected that the politicians were actually doing something because they had done nothing for decades.
I think you need to look at this differently, this isn't an us against them. This is the population against the politicians. As for the welfare mooches, I don't know of a single person who wouldn't love to see cuts, and I mean big cuts in all of those programs.
Do yourself a favor, take a deep breath and talk to people before jumping to conclusions because it isn't what you think it is.
AMEN to that.
Better yet, where is the outcry and anger over how the city spends our tax dollars for Depaul University basketball stadium? Magey Daley Park? No bid leases given out to businesses at O'Hare airport?
I asked my Alderman why the city could not do everything in an open book bidding process? She replied "it's too complicated". I am serious; all city business deals, bids, contracts, etc. should be open for us to see. All city bids should be handled in an online platform like Ebay does it. The one with the lowest price and highest quality gets the deal.
There really should be no complaint from the citizens of Chicago. For years, the city never funded the pension system. These same "complainers" reaped the benefits of enhanced city services while the pensions were not funded, Now, its time for the first responders, teachers and others who have dedicated their lives to serve their community to reap their benefits. Blame the politicians, not the pensioners.
Want to see a good look into socialism? Lookee here
http://adrianvance.blogspot.com/2015/05/avoid-liberalism.html
Raise the minimum retirement age. Allow one to only collect "one" pension, not one for every position they ever held.
It doesn't matter how much Illinois politicians get they are fiscally irresponsible. We could build a casino and still be broke. Remember that lottery money was going to fund the school system.....well? Keep voting Democrat, remember voters you voted for your own mess, blame yourselves.
As a private sector non-union, non city/state worker, I agree with every word. Bravo.
Beautifully stated and right on point!
Blame Game Rebuttal Rebuttal --
"When that promise of an exciting life-long- career as a coffee barista or warehouse worker doesn't work out as you planned..."
Don't mock your fellow citizens who are struggling to survive.
"Private sector...non-city/state workers" used to be the backbone of this country. What has happened to us, that "garbage workers" and pothole fillers became a safe, well-looked after elite as the skilled jobs that provided the basis for creation of wealth disappeared?
Everyone benefited from a healthy economy; now the pyramid is inverted, with millions of "managers" and "facilitators" and "coordinators" and "advisors" at the top -- like the gang-banging Xadrian R. McCraven pulling in $111,000/year at IDOC "sending lewd e-mails" -- and the sharp point of the whole thing balanced upon the backs of the truly needy and the actual workers, both private-and public-sector.
I recently heard a news story in which some golden-parachute-equipped corporate head shrugged and glibly projected current reality backwards onto the awful scene, as though this had always been part of his Grand Plan. "We never intended that our full-time jobs should provide a living wage."
The destruction of American manufacturing, a sick, topsy-turvy economy based upon "consumer spending," a "service economy" that has never existed anywhere before now, massive, criminal real estate and financial speculation, and a deliberate flood of aliens to keep wages low and prices and rents high -- the population of this country has been doubled since I was born -- are all contributing factors.
The prices of many consumer items have risen 1000% in the last 30 - 40 years. That 79-cent pack of Israeli-made razor blades is now marked $7.99. The 39-cent card of safety pins now comes from China - at $3.99 - and the pins are useless, dangerous thin wire and won't hold anything together. The half-gallon of juice is now some clever 56.5 ounces, and a "quart" = 30 ounces.
The New Arithmetic!
The "middle class" is being destroyed. Working people who were once living modestly and able to save a little money have been extruded forcibly downwards as though by a giant hydraulic press -- evicted despite paying their rent in the bubble of condo manipulation and "flipping," driven from four rooms to 3 1/2 to 2 1/2 to 1 room. You know what the next stop is.
Now public sector employees are seeing the grinning, skull-faced men peering into their windows, in a country with no metaphysical basis where the social contract has been run into the shredder. "It was never our intention that working your a_s off would leave you with anything -- not even enough to live on."
There is a vast, pillaging army out to get the last penny of the last generation that was able to work and save some money; many are not yet aware of the swarming "social workers" and lawyers and "public guardians" that are after them, to cut them off from their families, strip them of their rights, and force them against their will into some $90,000/year nursing home while everything they own is "inventoried" and auctioned off by the marauders -- who must wet their beaks as well, of course.
Check out --
http://stopguardianabuse.org/
and
https://www.facebook.com/boomersbeware
and have your Power Of Attorney force fields up.
We are, all of us, being eaten alive by RahmRaunerLLC, quaffing $6,000 bottles of wine while they laugh up their sleeves at us, by the black-flagged JP Morgan Chase pirate ship, passing along the billions of dollars in fines against them by way of paying us .01% interest, and by Goldman Sachs, "the giant, blood-sucking squid that has fastened its beak to the face of humanity."
Welcome to the club.
Stand together or die separately.
$3000 vouchers for section 8. I rest my case.
So what ever happened to the pension money that was unlawfully invested by the crime family/machine? Open that old post again SCC. Money gets stolen and after years go by we have to forget about why the funds are lacking.
SCC,
You've out-done yourself again. Bravo!
I left a better paying job at the time I got hired by the city of Chicago, for a pension and health benefits, which are huge issues the older you get!
Also, I believe most people did the same as I did, back in the day because of the shitty economy and crappy companies!
Benefits that are not offered in the private sector anymore, even at an overall higher wage!
I have sacrificed for what I believe is a guaranteed contract, as described in the Illinois State Constitution!
That is a pension and health benefits which will NOT be diminished or impaired!
Otherwise, I would have stayed in my previous career and never become the Police, and stayed at my previous job which was transportation and trucking services!
How else is Chicago, going to get good people to do a shitty, thankless job working a beat car, for the most of us out here on the streets of thankless Chicago?!
Now pay me for what I earned and not given for free, after 30 years of service!
Crickets? Chirp! Chirp!
Da Pelon
As a private sector business owner, I have NEVER had a problem paying taxes going towards the support of public sector personnel who are needed. Those who aren't needed I have a problem with (i.e. multiple full time assistants to politicians who work part time). Their employment contract states that there will be a pension for them when they retire. These employees then work in good faith, believing they will have an income once they retire. What I do have a problem with is the politicians who STOLE the funds for retirements then "need" to raise taxes to pay for their theft.
Since we do live in the real world, you all know there are those who look for easy ways to take what is not theirs. My suggestion is that you all take a portion of your pay and invest it in yourself by making your own retirement fund. That way you have a safety net in the worst case senerio. Best case, you have a lot more to work with when you are ready to retire.
I learned a long time ago, plan for the worst, hope for the best and meet somewhere in the middle.
Being intelligent individuals (allegedly) you should have thought of this yourself. The situation still sucks, but you would be better prepared for the loss.
Or maybe people in the private sector could see the writing on the wall aND didn't want to have their retirement in the hands of the dbags in Springfield.
Best post I've seen in a long time. Well said !
Hardly anyone gets it.
The social security and medicare benefits are on tap to be cut by the end of this year so you're not alone.
We all been sold a bill of goods.
False promises while the clouted politicians enrich themselves and their friends
As to saving for ones future, being responsible for ones own self.. hahaha.
You can save as many dollars as you want however it's the central bankers that control the value of those dollars. The way they have been printing money and handing it out to clouted CEO's and politicians you can expect that fiat currency to be worth as much as monopoly money soon.
Don't worry one way or the other the apparatchik is going to get that retirement money. Look at it just sitting there doing nothing. The balances are just too big to ignore.
If they can't cut the payments into the plans then expect them to tax the hell out of it when the money is taken out.
Yeah, another false promise broken,
If that conjures up illusions that are too unpleasant just ramp up the inflation so the raw number of dollars actually goes up most of the masses will think they made money just like the stories you hear about people buying homes twenty years ago and now they are worth "X" bragging how they made money when they didn't even break even.
The game is rigged.
You can blame the people living off welfare but maybe they're the smart ones no longer willing to feed the true parasites of the cities ruling party eh?
Nah man. This posters anger is misdirected. It's the divide and concur strategy. You'd think everyone would recognize it by now with all the race baiting, all the economic diversions using the media lapdogs. Gay rights, Transgenders rights, Feminist, Racist, Immigrants, etc..
Can we find any other way to divide the people so the ponzi game can continue? How about the blue eyed people against the brown eyes.
Seriously..
As a private sector employee that makes a decent amount, my only concern is with the abuses. 6 figure pensions are outrageous. A person making $100k /year would have to save over half their gross income to match that level of a pension. Exorbitant pensions are way out of line and most people I know with pensions recognize that.
Capping pensions at $75 with a minimal cola would be acceptable.
Here's a website that talks about Chicago Pensions and gives an eg. of a PO. Also possible solution. Not a bad read to educate yourself
http://pensionintegrity.org
FOP;CFF Local 2; need to look into Citizens for Pension Integrity.
Well said, SCC! You are right- there are an awful lot of whiny people out here grumbling about how government workers should not get a pension, and have absolutely no idea that the workers fund a large portion of their own pension through payroll deductions from each paycheck.
So you're telling me when employees get to vote for their bosses, they'll keep electing the ones who make them the best promises, regardless of whether those promises have a snowballs chance of being kept?
40 years of Democrats Hegemony has really been awesome, eh?
It's amusing that this rant was preceded by illustrating corruption at the water district. Do you happen to believe that your pension plans are not corrupt? Kickbacks to minority firms. "Thanks for letting me use the skybox, here's 50 grand for doing nothing". You want me to bite the bullet and pony up so your pension funds can piss away my money as corruptly as any other agency in the state. No thanks.
I will never remove my Mike Madigan lawn sign. We need him now more than ever!
This was spot on and have been saying it for years. Came on the job 18yrs ago for several reasons
#1) I wanted to be the Police
#2) Tested with thousands and with it would be job security.
#3) hiring process involved multiple steps and waiting.
#4) stayed away from drugs and acted like a civilized human.
#5) Actually thought of the future as an early 20's adult back then.
#6)Nobody can predict the future but now because the political thieves helped damage our economy,it's OUR fault we've been paying into a Pension..NOT!
Blame a City,State,Village Union Worker because the bottom floor fell out over Political Mismanagement..BwaaHaaaHaaaaHaaa!!
See you soon at the retirement Board..We've been attacked over the years and still show up to work everyday pending injuries at work.
So sorry you didn't have a plan 10-20-30 years ago about your future now blame US for your poor plans!
IF this was facebook I would push the like button. Perfectly said.
Excellent!
Well said.Thanks to the author.
Well said.
You left out one major point. The politicians failed to make the state's required pension payments, year after year, decade after decade, so that they wouldn't have to raise fees for services as well as taxes. The public enjoyed many years of no tax increases at the expense of the government employee pension funds. Now it comes full circle. As they said in Goodfellas, "Fuck you, pay me!"
Ask Daley and the Democrat machine what they did with the money.
As reported in the Tribune, Rham's Chief legal stooge and snake oil salesman has the gall to suggest the City pension theft statute does not " diminish or impair" but rather "preserves and protects." Oh really, what crock of bullshit ! It will be another great day to see the Illinois Supreme Court torpedo that flimsy and meritless argument. Also, who is the goof at City Hall/Mayor's Press Office that comes up with these 2nd grade level slogans ? Freeborn and Peters/Krislov, you need to get into court this week, shut down these frivolous and outrageous arguments and see to it that retirees receive their earned and promised 3% annual annuity increase.
The author of this post about the public sector pensions is pretty clueless. Upon your claim that those of us in the private sector could have gone after those public sector jobs is without any reason. Just how many people do you think can be employed in the public sector? If we all wanted those jobs, where would the money come from? For all your sensitivity about criticisms of you pensions, we are the people paying for them. The government has no magic wand to create money, they just take it from those of us in the private sector. And when you pay taxes, all you are doing is recycling money that the private sector has payed into. Also, I don't know one person in the private sector who is smoking weed and sitting home. I also don't know one who is happy, and not outraged at the state of entitlement. It's OUR money that goes to support the pensions and entitlement programs. We in the private sector do not get nor expect yearly raises. It is all based on the economy, company performance and individual accountabiity. I personally have had no income increase since 2007 yet the public sector employees expect me to pay more taxes so they can get a raise in an economy that has sucked for 8 years. (Sorry Obama, your spin does not fool all of us.) The public sector job market is bloated with jobs that are not necessary and are overpaid. Just look into the State of Illinois Job Board and you will see numerous offerings for Admins of up to $6,000 per MONTH. Way more than the private sector pays for those jobs unless the company is extremely successful and can justify those wages. Usually someone who makes that kind of money has been with the same company a long time. Oh and the comment made by the author about private sector employees not staying at one company for awhile, what a hoot. It is a joke within the private sector how public sector employees get put in a position/chair and sit there for years with no fear of being held accountable for their performance. Private sector employees often move around for opportunities to move up or move over for a different type of position. Also, private sector employees often move because of cultural shifts within a corporation. In other words, private sector employees are often not satisfied with the status quo. Yes, we are tired of public sector employees expecting salary increases year after year and threatening to hold the city hostage with strikes. I agree that the lackey's and politicians in this city/state have been corrupt and criminal in their handling of the pension crisis, but you have yourselves to blame. The Chicago and city machines regularly get their army of city and state employees out to work the polls and get out the vote for the current Dem nominees. I watched in disgust as home after home posted "Proud Union Home" during the last presidential election and worked their butts off to get this current failure of a President elected. And you complain about the pension crisis while the country spirals out of control with 90 million able bodied people not in the work force, 45 million on food stamps, immigrants by the thousands crossing our borders every day, and not to mention, a democratic run government and media intent on making police officers the bad guys and looking the other way when they get murdered. It is the public sector unions that have caused these problems and ill will by supporting these crooked (democratic) politicians and continually insisting on increased wages. (BTW, look at how much time a public sector employee gets off with vacation, sick, personal days and holidays compared to private sector.) Forgive me if I am not too sensitive to your cause.
The media is the conduit that carries the water for the elite in our country. They tout an economic recovery while real wages are down. In other words we truly are living in an Orwellian world.
A journalist undergrad student could find all of the corrupt, backroom and sleazy deals that is truly costing our city and state billions. But nope, the so called professional journalists just parrot what their masters tell them.
Civilian here and in public service.
Bravo....well said.
The ruling class failed to fund the pensions as required for bullshit contracts to their friends/families and bailouts to individuals who sat on their asses, smokin' dope, and makin' babies. And now, we're the bad guys??? How ironic! Kass is correct, we are chambolones for doing our jobs, paying our taxes, and trying to teach our kids to do well in schools in order to get a job, meanwhile having Daley, Madigan, Emanuel, and their ilk laugh in our faces. Revolutions were started over shit like this.
That's awesome. I started in the late 80s. Sniffing cocaine was the cool thing to do and everybody wanted to work at the board of trade in the good ole days. I remember all my friends would be out on Friday and Saturday night, and I would have to work afternoons or midnights. I wound up losing touch with a lot of guys I grew up with.
As this guy said, nobody wanted the police job. A family member told me he was concerned with my choice because it was "kind of a dead end job."
We made sacrifices and I thank God for the court's decision the other day. I know they will continue to attempt to steal our pensions, but it was a good sign and it had to make all of you feel good.
It's that mandatory union thing that is a turnoff.
Tomorrow I will bury a guy who had 25 yrs on the job and lasted in his pension...
5 months. He was 52. Name another job in which the life expectancy is so low that we die in our 50's.
Enron?
No hate here. Not a cop but a taxpayer. We are all getting fucked because these crooks did what they do. Best part is the likes of Madigan and Cullerton et al look around smugly and try to blame it on someone else. And these pieces of garbage are still in office. I blame the idiots who continue to vote for,them. Most of them because they have to repaynthe debt for a job or whatever. Its sickening.
To The Poster Of 5/102015 10:52:00AM
As A Retired Chicago Police Officer, and A Person That Worked Many Jobs In The Private Sector, I Have To Agree With Much Of What You Have Posted. I Do Think I Speak For Many Of My Fellow CPD Officers, When I Say, We Have Never Supported The Democratic Party. I Was Hired To The CPD Long Before "Any" Union. Our Pension Is Not A Result Of Any Union Action. Our Pension Was Promised Before Our Current Union. In Conclusion, If You Are A Reader Of This Blog, You "Might" Have Noticed That Most Police Officers Are Not Fans Of The Democratic Party.
If you believe you contributed your "fair shart" to your pension then you should be ok with not getting out of it more than you paid in.
Don't worry, Federal bankruptcy courts (where state law is meaningless) will take care of the pensions.
10.52am,,,,,,blome. Pissed off you didn't plan your life better? Jealous that the court unanimously ruled the government failed in their requirement to fund?
Myself and every other employee never missed one payment since receiving paycheck #1.
Did you know we don't get Social Security even if we are paid in fully? I have to pay FICA on side jobs. Is that fair?
Quit listening to Rauner's & Rahm's bullshit. The City has Billions in unspent TIF funds--convert that money
>>>Anonymous said...
The unions should handle the pension funds obviously the city can't handle it.
5/10/2015 04:17:00 AM<<<
The union "leadership" has been bought off by the politicians with after-career jobs. Why are they so silent during elections.
Whoever handles that kind of money will be tempted to be corrupted by it.
Why should police, fire and other public service employees be exempt when it comes time to getting screwed out of their retirement?
Happens all the time in the private sector, just ask people who've retired from various airlines, GM, etc. what happened when their former employers filed for bankruptcy.
Public service employees are hardly unique when it comes time to getting screwed by our "masters". If everybody is going to feed on a shit sandwich, then you'll have to take a healthy bite when it comes your way.
Let's see lets do the math, I'm retiring this year and will get my promised and heavily contributed pension, but you want to take it away from me and other officers, ok we don't get social security while personally I have my 40 quarters paid in, and you want me and my brothers and sisters in blue to eat cat food and live in a cardboard box!
Your going to keep giving tax money away to thugs link card holders and of course the millions of illegals here, and you don't think for a minute we will not fight back?
The author of this post about the public sector pensions is pretty clueless. Upon your claim that those of us in the private sector could have gone after those public sector jobs is without any reason. Just how many people do you think can be employed in the public sector? If we all wanted those jobs, where would the money come from? For all your sensitivity about criticisms of you pensions, we are the people paying for them. The government has no magic wand to create money, they just take it from those of us in the private sector. And when you pay taxes, all you are doing is recycling money that the private sector has payed into. Also, I don't know one person in the private sector who is smoking weed and sitting home. I also don't know one who is happy, and not outraged at the state of entitlement. It's OUR money that goes to support the pensions and entitlement programs. We in the private sector do not get nor expect yearly raises. It is all based on the economy, company performance and individual accountabiity. I personally have had no income increase since 2007 yet the public sector employees expect me to pay more taxes so they can get a raise in an economy that has sucked for 8 years. (Sorry Obama, your spin does not fool all of us.) The public sector job market is bloated with jobs that are not necessary and are overpaid. Just look into the State of Illinois Job Board and you will see numerous offerings for Admins of up to $6,000 per MONTH. Way more than the private sector pays for those jobs unless the company is extremely successful and can justify those wages. Usually someone who makes that kind of money has been with the same company a long time. Oh and the comment made by the author about private sector employees not staying at one company for awhile, what a hoot. It is a joke within the private sector how public sector employees get put in a position/chair and sit there for years with no fear of being held accountable for their performance. Private sector employees often move around for opportunities to move up or move over for a different type of position. Also, private sector employees often move because of cultural shifts within a corporation. In other words, private sector employees are often not satisfied with the status quo. Yes, we are tired of public sector employees expecting salary increases year after year and threatening to hold the city hostage with strikes. I agree that the lackey's and politicians in this city/state have been corrupt and criminal in their handling of the pension crisis, but you have yourselves to blame. The Chicago and city machines regularly get their army of city and state employees out to work the polls and get out the vote for the current Dem nominees. I watched in disgust as home after home posted "Proud Union Home" during the last presidential election and worked their butts off to get this current failure of a President elected. And you complain about the pension crisis while the country spirals out of control with 90 million able bodied people not in the work force, 45 million on food stamps, immigrants by the thousands crossing our borders every day, and not to mention, a democratic run government and media intent on making police officers the bad guys and looking the other way when they get murdered. It is the public sector unions that have caused these problems and ill will by supporting these crooked (democratic) politicians and continually insisting on increased wages. (BTW, look at how much time a public sector employee gets off with vacation, sick, personal days and holidays compared to private sector.) Forgive me if I am not too sensitive to your cause.
very good rebuttal
My Asthma !!
Raise the minimum retirement age. Allow one to only collect "one" pension, not one for every position they ever held.
5/10/2015 07:39:00 AM
Blow me. Don't change shit 4 years before I'm ready to retire . How about the city coughs up their share.
Nation with highest percentage of membership in labor unions: Finland
Nation with highest quality of life according to UN: Finland
Nation to most recently outlaw labor unions: Saudi Arabia
Nation with highest percentage of workers in indentured servitude: Saudi Arabia
Tale of woe, jobs leaving the state and city and no indication manufacturing is on the rise here, regardless of all the tax incentives. Maybe a movie studio or two but your Democrat elected officials have "put the financial chains on y'all" and don't even realize it yet.
Sorry about those million or so ShovelReadyJobs® that were promised during the Hope&Change® era. The future of Illinois infrastructure construction will become skilled $10.00 an hour RaunerReadyMen® (which will be similar to the ChicagoWay® rate). Pension in the form of a simple 401k if you like and a hefty tab for your healthcare. Bright side is that $10 an hour j-o-b puts you below the max threshold to get a crack at some ObamaCare® subsidy and an ObamaFone®.
Expect the public servants are the enemy rhetoric to ratchet up big time.
In truth the enemy is, and has been, the thieving, lying politicians.
It started with the airline pilots, who although they do not take bullets or jump into burning buildings, it is a pretty serious gig. Many of them got fucked raw with only months to go, zero pensions and now the airline execs are cashing millions in bonus cash. United is still laughing at Chicago for stealing over 20 million to move jobs downtown. I did find that opinion insulting because we all make choices. Where are the lawsuits when the money was not placed into the pensions, where was the outcry while people were double and even triple dipping into the pensions, while politicians are receiving more than they ever put in? It was quiet. So fuck you too.
Amen brother
Amen.
5/10/2015 10:52:00 AM
I work as a police officer. I have to agree 100% with what you said. I have told my colleagues many times that our economy is going through a huge downward transition. Pretty soon our wages and benefits will need to be cut. Most of them simply don't have a clue nor care.
Never before have we had so many bubbles all at one time. The stock market and bond market is in a bubble. Now real estate prices have gone crazy again. No fundamental method of valuation can justify these high prices. Yet wages are declining. Try to make sense out of that!
Now our fine governor would be upset if someone who owed him money refused to pay . Our Governor want changes but has he ever talked about obligation that the state/city has to those in the retirement systems. Yes the we have done our part and its time for the bill to be paid.
It time to start using finical OBLIGATION not finical crisis. A promise has been made to those about retirement you can not change the rules after the fact.
Rich Rosenthal
Anonymous said...
I hope you all collect all of your pensions. Unfortunately I do not think you are going to collect everything promised.
But you are not going to collect it all. Not because of me, or mine. What is going to prevent it is called MATH. There is just not enough money in Chicago to support all the promises.
5/10/2015 04:05:00 AM
It's also called a deleveraging economy. As a nation we have lived high on the hog via easy credit. Now it's time to pay the bills.
(OT) here's blame gain Michelle Obama style: race card 101 you make it to the very top and you still complain:
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-05-10/michelle-obama-lets-loose-on-race-in-graduation-speech
Wonder what would happen if a white sorry Caucasian or Hispanic said this? Would they protest in the streets?
The article is very good but it does not point out the atmosphere for public employees is bleak. When the Pols get together and try to change the constitution, the public will vote for it. Call it what you want- jealousy, brainwashed or even contemptuous but the public is not on the side of public employees.
5/10/2015 10:52:00 AM
YOU Dear Sir or Madame ARE NOT paying my pension. You may pay taxes but those funds are then redistributed by your, often Democartic, elected officials.
It was THEIR CHOICE to ignore required pension payments. If and when you saw this shit happening you should have voted these goofs out of office. But, alas, you didn't.
Daley had free reign and a rubber stamp council for twenty odd years. If they have to raise taxes to cover the pension too fucking bad. Move if you don't like it.
I've said this before. If the elected officials would have done their jobs instead of ignoring the pension your taxes would have been raised years ago. You've skated for years. You continued to vote these asshole into office. It's time to pay for your mistake.
Anonymous said...
The author of this post about the public sector pensions is pretty clueless. Upon your claim that those of us in the private sector could have gone after those public sector jobs is without any reason. Just how many people do you think can be employed in the public sector? If we all wanted those jobs, where would the money come from? For all your sensitivity about criticisms of you pensions, we are the people paying for them. The government has no magic wand to create money, they just take it from those of us in the private sector. And when you pay taxes, all you are doing is recycling money that the private sector has payed into. Also, I don't know one person in the private sector who is smoking weed and sitting home. I also don't know one who is happy, and not outraged at the state of entitlement. It's OUR money that goes to support the pensions and entitlement programs. We in the private sector do not get nor expect yearly raises. It is all based on the economy, company performance and individual accountabiity. I personally have had no income increase since 2007 yet the public sector employees expect me to pay more taxes so they can get a raise in an economy that has sucked for 8 years. (Sorry Obama, your spin does not fool all of us.) The public sector job market is bloated with jobs that are not necessary and are overpaid. Just look into the State of Illinois Job Board and you will see numerous offerings for Admins of up to $6,000 per MONTH. Way more than the private sector pays for those jobs unless the company is extremely successful and can justify those wages. Usually someone who makes that kind of money has been with the same company a long time. Oh and the comment made by the author about private sector employees not staying at one company for awhile, what a hoot. It is a joke within the private sector how public sector employees get put in a position/chair and sit there for years with no fear of being held accountable for their performance. Private sector employees often move around for opportunities to move up or move over for a different type of position. Also, private sector employees often move because of cultural shifts within a corporation. In other words, private sector employees are often not satisfied with the status quo. Yes, we are tired of public sector employees expecting salary increases year after year and threatening to hold the city hostage with strikes. I agree that the lackey's and politicians in this city/state have been corrupt and criminal in their handling of the pension crisis, but you have yourselves to blame. The Chicago and city machines regularly get their army of city and state employees out to work the polls and get out the vote for the current Dem nominees. I watched in disgust as home after home posted "Proud Union Home" during the last presidential election and worked their butts off to get this current failure of a President elected. And you complain about the pension crisis while the country spirals out of control with 90 million able bodied people not in the work force, 45 million on food stamps, immigrants by the thousands crossing our borders every day, and not to mention, a democratic run government and media intent on making police officers the bad guys and looking the other way when they get murdered. It is the public sector unions that have caused these problems and ill will by supporting these crooked (democratic) politicians and continually insisting on increased wages. (BTW, look at how much time a public sector employee gets off with vacation, sick, personal days and holidays compared to private sector.) Forgive me if I am not too sensitive to your cause.
5/10/2015 10:52:00 AM
You also to chose ton bend over and allow the private sector to Fuck you up the ass instead of organizing, fighting, and making noise you chose to lay quietly in the corner. Please stop attacking those who may have to save your sorry ass because of what its like in the private sector. Ill say no more. Singed,
Not a cop
"If we all wanted those jobs, where would the money come from? For all your sensitivity about criticisms of you pensions, we are the people paying for them"
Hey Jagoff in case you forgotten, we pay taxes as well and are REQUIRED to reside in the City. If Chicago wasn't in Illinois this state would be North Alabama.Hope you enjoyed your weekend compliments of Organized Labor.
In the meantime,GFY
First off, I'm sick of people complaining about municipal workers as a whole. This is a police blog. We perform a service and risk our lives and bodily harm. We test for our jobs, not campaign. Further, focus your anger on entitlement leaches bleeding the state dry, not the people who work varied hours, weekends and holidays. We are not to blame for this. Policemen have continually spoke out against the unethical and damn near criminal inaction taken by politicians regarding pensions. We do not receive social security and we deserve what we have worked for, been contractually promised and paid into. How would you like it if I said you shouldn't receive social security checks in your retirement and that your company should bankrupt your 401k?
Have to know someone to get a CPD or CFD job? Makes me laugh. I got on CFD not knowing a soul. Wasn't even registered to vote. Nitwit.
For decades Illinois polititions bought their elected positions by making outrageous deals with the Police, Fire and Teacher's unions. Those unions were large enough and influential enough to always get their "guy" elected. No fiscal conservative stood a chance. Cook county is the highest taxed in the nation. People are leaving and businesses avoid it. So there you go. The unions perpetually voted themselves raises while Rome burned. The party is over. The good people of Illinois didn't sign up for this. The Union backed politicians did. You can pretend you earned it...bla bla bla...Six figure pensions paid for out of public dollars are immoral, absurd, and unsustainable. Even people who innocently made money in Ponzie schemes are forced to pay it back when the fraudsters are busted.
I became a police officer by taking the test and completing the process as required . I have no clout or family in city jobs or politics. I went to work in the district I was sent to after the academy. I received no meritorious handouts and over fifteen years later, I'm a blueshirt who has shown up for work, did his job, paid 9% of his paycheck towards his pension and did no campaigning or gave political support for anyone. Furthermore, as a municipal employee, I will not receive social security. Some of you in the private sector feel compelled to troll our blog and bash us as if we are responsible for the pension crisis. How dare you! I have done what was required. I should be entitled to what was agreed upon in order to feed, clothe and shelter myself and my family in my golden years, God willing. I empathize with others in the private sector who have gotten a raw deal by their employers. At the same time I do not wish ill will on anyone who held up their end of the bargain and rightfully expect what is due to them.
Yes, we are tired of public sector employees expecting salary increases year after year and threatening to hold the city hostage with strikes. I agree that the lackey's and politicians in this city/state have been corrupt and criminal in their handling of the pension crisis, but you have yourselves to blame. The Chicago and city machines regularly get their army of city and state employees out to work the polls and get out the vote for the current Dem nominees.
What , are u still stuck in the 80 s. The city politician haven t used city workers as voting army in years.They now just promise the world to the Revs and his people .Since we have to live in the city we too are paying for everyone's pensions so don t act like we don t pay for our salaries. You have the ability to move around, find a nice suburb and send your kids to a nice school for free. We not only pay a high property tax but have to spend another $12 k for schooling per kid. Thats like paying the property tax of someone in Barrington.
You are a person that has drank the politicians kool aid regarding unions. For us we took a uniform allowance in place of a payraise because this way the city didnt have to pay into the pensions saving themselves a ton of money. But 20 yrs later the aldermen are screaming why we have this allowance.That wasn t the unions fault.mcCormick place unions gave up a ton of concessions for the city but the city charges the highest square footage of any place.They have some of the highest food prices too. But they say its the unions fault that shows were leaving.
We took this job knowing were were n t going to get rich. We gave up weekends, family outings and our health with the crazy hours we work. So how many weddings have u missed. Or ur kids plays or sporting events.Yeah, i didnt think so.But we stayed because of the benefits we were promised.New york coppers retire after 20 yrs.L.A after 25. We max out at 29 with avg pension of $60 k and no social security. I have my hours in from working other jobs since i was 16 but congressman Rostinkosky decided we have a pension so some illegal or drug head gets 66% of my SS.
Yeah u guys in the private sector have it rough.
Ask preckwinkle about 'county care' which is a part of Obama care. Everyone thru county jail is offered free health care age 19-64...
Why isn't there an investigation into why these pensions are unfunded? Why don't we prosecute politicians who took campaign money from companies that were investing the pension money? Some of these companies or individuals were unqualified to handle the pension funds. Why don't we also prosecute the people who managed these funds for bribery? There should also be an investigation into where the diverted pension funds went that weren't lost in bad investments. This will never happen since we have a democratic state's attorney, Il. Attorney general and U.S. Attorney General. Any union that endorsed a democratic politician has leaders that have betrayed their membership for their own gains.
I live in cook county but not the city. The citizens of chicago, cook county, and Illinois are already among the most heavily taxed in the country. Our businesses are taxed, our property, gas, and food are taxed, our out of state purchases are taxed, our incomes are taxed... my comment is aimed at the state level; I know little about the relations between the chicago police and fire unions and the city government, though a lot of the comments make it sound like they're similar to those of state government and associated unions.
Since public sector unions came into being, the only protection for taxpayers would have been honorable, non-corrupt politicians and government. Here in Illinois (and subset government bodies) even the thought of that is a sick joke. So you have public sector unions and government/politicians in an unholy circle-jerk...unions demand the high pay and bennies (and under-the table handouts), politicians provide and expect union support for campaigns, elections, etc, and the taxpayers just have to keep paying for it.
In the private sector there are limits. A company can only afford so much, a union that gets too greedy will cost its members jobs, or potentially make the company itself nonviable. The company can't run deficits year after year. There is a greater power (government) that will step in even if the market doesn't stop such behavior. The finances draw a line in the sand that can't be crossed for long (unless of course a friendly government colludes to fill the gap).
But public sector... why then you've got that apparently bottomless purse, that huge base of taxpayers that you can just squeeze, and squeeze... it seems like you can't run out of money! So the unions demand wages, pensions, and benefits that would be untenable in the private sector, the politicians get their palms greased, the promises are made, the unions support 'their' politicians.... and the taxpayers end up getting squeezed more and more. Market? That can be ignored (for a while....) Best of all there's nobody 'bigger' than government to step in and stop the shenanigans unless (yeah right, in chicago? Illinois?) the voters start paying attention and voting with their heads instead of their union or party affiliations.
There's a point in the process her in Illinois where its clear that both 'sides' of the contract negotiations are in fact the same. Its as if the UAW got to play both the union and the company role in negotiations, shook their hands together on bigger bennies than anyone else could get, and got what they wanted, and then the company just had to pay it.
Only here its the taxpayers that once again have to get their wallets drained to pay for the union-machine circle-jerk.
Yes, we are tired of public sector employees expecting salary increases year after year and threatening to hold the city hostage with strikes. I agree that the lackey's and politicians in this city/state have been corrupt and criminal in their handling of the pension crisis, but you have yourselves to blame. The Chicago and city machines regularly get their army of city and state employees out to work the polls and get out the vote for the current Dem nominees.
What , are u still stuck in the 80 s. The city politician haven t used city workers as voting army in years.They now just promise the world to the Revs and his people .Since we have to live in the city we too are paying for everyone's pensions so don t act like we don t pay for our salaries. You have the ability to move around, find a nice suburb and send your kids to a nice school for free. We not only pay a high property tax but have to spend another $12 k for schooling per kid. Thats like paying the property tax of someone in Barrington.
You are a person that has drank the politicians kool aid regarding unions. For us we took a uniform allowance in place of a payraise because this way the city didnt have to pay into the pensions saving themselves a ton of money. But 20 yrs later the aldermen are screaming why we have this allowance.That wasn t the unions fault.mcCormick place unions gave up a ton of concessions for the city but the city charges the highest square footage of any place.They have some of the highest food prices too. But they say its the unions fault that shows were leaving.
We took this job knowing were were n t going to get rich. We gave up weekends, family outings and our health with the crazy hours we work. So how many weddings have u missed. Or ur kids plays or sporting events.Yeah, i didnt think so.But we stayed because of the benefits we were promised.New york coppers retire after 20 yrs.L.A after 25. We max out at 29 with avg pension of $60 k and no social security. I have my hours in from working other jobs since i was 16 but congressman Rostinkosky decided we have a pension so some illegal or drug head gets 66% of my SS.
Yeah u guys in the private sector have it rough.
Well said!! Well said!!!
All this animosity and talk of six figure pensions that only the clouted gold stars and commissioners, etc. get, not the average cop or municipal worker you assholes. If you don't want to pay for the public services you receive, fucking move and good riddance, liberal douchebag hater. Btw, call a crackhead to help next time a predator attempts to forcibly sodomize you in a dark alley. Workers didn't cause the mess, politicians that you fucking complainers helped elect did. City workers are a small percentage of Chicago's population. It's the people bitching about tax increases that are solely responsible for these people getting reelected. Look in the fucking mirror and take responsibility. Instead of blaming the people who work, how about blaming the politicians and the jagoff bloodsuckers who freeload off society while victimizing the good citizens and never contributing?
I am a retired Chic PO and have been for the past 12 years. For the past several years all we have heard is the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois did not properly fund the pensions. Everyone is blaming government, weather it the city or the state. Here is who also should be partially to blame, the unions. Why did the unions allow the city or the state these pension holidays? Why didn't the unions stand up and fight for full funding of our pension systems? The unions knew that government was not fully funding our pensions but keep their mouths shut. Why? Don't get me wrong, the Daley Crime Syndicate along with the Madigan Crime Syndicate should be charged with the Ricco Act for what they have done with our pensions. But they are not alone in this. The union leadership should also be held accountable. It makes me sick to see the sign on the lawns that proclaim a "Proud Union Home"! Proud of what? The city's unions went along with these pension holidays knowing that someday it was going to come back and bite them. For years we heard that we were kicking the can down the road and the unions did nothing. The problem with being a Police Officer is that we can't strike. We did not or do not have any leverage against the city. The fire department struck in the 80's and if it wasn't for the Police, they would be still trying to catch up with us. The fire department should kiss our rears. Thank God that the then Major Byrne took care of us. We Police Officers are partially to blame also. We knew the city was not fully funding our pensions and we as members of the FOP did not hold FOP accountable. In the early 80's there was a vote by the union membership on razing our contributions to the pension by 1or2%. It got voted down almost overwhelmingly. The reason why it got voted down was nobody wanted to give more money to our pensions. Looking back now I don't know if that was a good vote or a bad vote. But what we should have voted on is whether or not we should have forced the union to take a firm stand in funding our pensions. That is the problem with some police officers, they only look for what is in it today and do not think about tomarrow.
With the exception of the teachers union, everyone I know blames the politicians. I don't know of anyone who blames the workers, even the teachers. What I think your missing is that this change reflected that the politicians were actually doing something because they had done nothing for decades.
I think you need to look at this differently, this isn't an us against them. This is the population against the politicians. As for the welfare mooches, I don't know of a single person who wouldn't love to see cuts, and I mean big cuts in all of those programs.
Do yourself a favor, take a deep breath and talk to people before jumping to conclusions because it isn't what you think it is.
5/10/2015 07:27:00 AM
Sorry, but you're wrong. I'm on a FB thread with some leaders of my neighborhood calling the tax increase for pensions BS and saying public employees get "excessive" pension benefits. One idiot, who is a real estate agent wrote, "A fool and his taxpayer funded pension will soon be parted." How dumbass is that? Public employees are the one group of people who have to live in Chicago. If he smarts off again or deletes his comment, I have a screen shot so I can post it elsewhere in social media and perhaps reduce his ability to fund his 401k.
WOW. Reading some of the comments here, you guys talk about how some in the private sector are clueless?
Go work for a large consulting firm. (first of all, you need a LOT of skills and degrees to even get hired, so many of you wouldn't even qualify)
You fly 90% of the year, put in 60-70 hours of work a week, get paid for 40 hours and YES, you do miss family events, work on weekends, and then when the job is done and if there is nothing else left - you get laid off and hopefully, you find another job where yes - you make good money, but there is no guarantee you'll be there for 20-30 years and the burn-out rate is probably less than a year. Many people today are "contract employees" - not full-time employees.
Most in the private sector have taken on lesser jobs in the last decade or so in Chicago because - guess what?
The good jobs have disappeared or are now filled with cheap, foreign, labor. (H-1Bs - something you may have heard about - or not)
You talk about someone "living in the 1980s" you're living in the 1960s where everyone works at one place for 30 years and still is getting a pension. Things have changed.
And those of you saying, "tough luck - you have to pay up". Unions voted all these corrupt politicians in, I didn't.
They made sure they have their pensions along with yours.
Now the well has run dry. Everybody, including them, has to take a cut - simple as that. No more double pensions. No more six-figure pensions.
And don't talk about "the unions" at McCormick Place giving up some money. They have been raping that job for years. (double time on Saturday, triple time on Sunday?) You work two days to make a week's pay. (At the cost of the tradeshows and exhibitors, who now have other venues they can choose from to hold a tradeshow - not just NYC, LA, and San Francisco anymore but Vegas, Orlando, Tampa, Dallas and about 20 other choices)
When you go to McCormick Place to set up a tradeshow, you have union idiots working there who will drop a computer and then laugh and say, "so what - it's probably insured."
Wonder why some large tradeshows have written off Chicago??
You can't just plug in the computer to an outlet- you have to "hire a union electrician" to do that and pay $100s of dollars for any menial work like that as well as $400 for a case of Coke to be delivered to the booth.
You wouldn't know any of this because you never have had to set-up or exhibit at a tradeshow at McCormick Place.
The pure greed and apathy of the unions and their fees have driven several BIG tradeshows out of Chicago - forever.
Do you know how much drain to the local economy that is? Of course you don't, that's not your concern. It should be.
Tax revenues pay for your salary and pension - not just property taxes. And when those "other revenues" go away and dry up, you cannot make all that up by raising property taxes.
Everyone should take a deep breath and really see what ALL the problems are in Chicago. If you did, you would not be so quick to lash out at people who have gotten "screwed" by the whole bureaucracy and who are now saying enough is enough.
Other cities can't wait for Chicago to implode more because it means more money for them in Tradeshows and all the business that brings in to Hotels, Restaurants, Bars, even down to the guy who shines shoes.
Dumb greed and the idea that everyone is going to "just put up with it" is stupid thinking in this city and you are now seeing the consequences.
Anonymous said...
As a private sector employee that makes a decent amount, my only concern is with the abuses. 6 figure pensions are outrageous. A person making $100k /year would have to save over half their gross income to match that level of a pension. Exorbitant pensions are way out of line and most people I know with pensions recognize that.
Capping pensions at $75 with a minimal cola would be acceptable.
5/10/2015 09:07:00 AM
Find me a copper with a 75K+ pension.
Here is the main fact Mr Not A LEO......WE paid almost 10%...of our own money....into our own pension. So basically IT IS OUR OWN MONEY. The city is supposed to match it and has not done so. They are the ones responsible to invest wisely and make gains into OUR fund. We have no control over that fact.The city is, by law, supposed to make whole our fund by 2015, because of their poor investing....and they have not done so yet.
Now you claim that you make good money. If someone was screwing you over your own money, I do believe you would be up in arms screaming. Only difference Mr Not A LEO, you don't get shot at, spit at or fight with people who don't listen.
You can thank us for standing up for your safety and security and trying to make sanity out of an insane world. You can back us in our cause, which is actually your cause to make you safe.
Without a police department, you have chaos.
How come we run out of pension money but never welfare money?
Hey Jagoff in case you forgotten, we pay taxes as well and are REQUIRED to reside in the City. If Chicago wasn't in Illinois this state would be North Alabama.Hope you enjoyed your weekend compliments of Organized Labor.
In the meantime,GFY
5/10/2015 08:46:00 PM
Hey Jagoff- Ever think about where the money comes from to pay you so you can pay your taxes? Thats tight, the private sector! As somebody already stated, you are simply recycling private sector taxes.
Are any of you going to stand up for $100k pensions and double dippers and say how those are "deserved" ?
We all know a pension under $100k equates to eating dog food.
So let's be real here, SCC, - the chances of someone getting into CPD, CFD, and CPS depends a lot on who you know and not as much as what you know.
I got hired back in 1990 and I had no clout, phone call or China man. I applied, took the test and got hired.
I would agree, to a certain extent that clout has a play in the hiring process but believe it or not, non- clouted people do get hired.
No one is denying you a pension, but no one can afford to give people pensions the size of Lottery Jackpot payouts.
-------------------------------------
Blue Shirt here.
FYI.......my "Lottery Jackpot" pension amounts to around $65,000. I do have enough credits to get social security, but since I got hired by the city I have not been contributing to it. And, since I will be getting a pension, what ever s.s. I would get will be cut by 2/3.
Anonymous said...
WOW. Reading some of the comments here, you guys talk about how some in the private sector are clueless?
Go work for a large consulting firm. (first of all, you need a LOT of skills and degrees to even get hired, so many of you wouldn't even qualify)
You fly 90% of the year, put in 60-70 hours of work a week, get paid for 40 hours and YES, you do miss family events, work on weekends, and then when the job is done and if there is nothing else left - you get laid off and hopefully, you find another job where yes - you make good money, but there is no guarantee you'll be there for 20-30 years and the burn-out rate is probably less than a year. Many people today are "contract employees" - not full-time employees.
Most in the private sector have taken on lesser jobs in the last decade or so in Chicago because - guess what?
The good jobs have disappeared or are now filled with cheap, foreign, labor. (H-1Bs - something you may have heard about - or not)
You talk about someone "living in the 1980s" you're living in the 1960s where everyone works at one place for 30 years and still is getting a pension. Things have changed.
And those of you saying, "tough luck - you have to pay up". Unions voted all these corrupt politicians in, I didn't.
They made sure they have their pensions along with yours.
Now the well has run dry. Everybody, including them, has to take a cut - simple as that. No more double pensions. No more six-figure pensions.
And don't talk about "the unions" at McCormick Place giving up some money. They have been raping that job for years. (double time on Saturday, triple time on Sunday?) You work two days to make a week's pay. (At the cost of the tradeshows and exhibitors, who now have other venues they can choose from to hold a tradeshow - not just NYC, LA, and San Francisco anymore but Vegas, Orlando, Tampa, Dallas and about 20 other choices)
When you go to McCormick Place to set up a tradeshow, you have union idiots working there who will drop a computer and then laugh and say, "so what - it's probably insured."
Wonder why some large tradeshows have written off Chicago??
You can't just plug in the computer to an outlet- you have to "hire a union electrician" to do that and pay $100s of dollars for any menial work like that as well as $400 for a case of Coke to be delivered to the booth.
You wouldn't know any of this because you never have had to set-up or exhibit at a tradeshow at McCormick Place.
The pure greed and apathy of the unions and their fees have driven several BIG tradeshows out of Chicago - forever.
Do you know how much drain to the local economy that is? Of course you don't, that's not your concern. It should be.
Tax revenues pay for your salary and pension - not just property taxes. And when those "other revenues" go away and dry up, you cannot make all that up by raising property taxes.
Everyone should take a deep breath and really see what ALL the problems are in Chicago. If you did, you would not be so quick to lash out at people who have gotten "screwed" by the whole bureaucracy and who are now saying enough is enough.
Other cities can't wait for Chicago to implode more because it means more money for them in Tradeshows and all the business that brings in to Hotels, Restaurants, Bars, even down to the guy who shines shoes.
Dumb greed and the idea that everyone is going to "just put up with it" is stupid thinking in this city and you are now seeing the consequences.
5/11/2015 03:06:00 AM
Ok do you have to worry about getting beaten,stabbed,shot,or killed? Do you have to worry about a burning structure falling in on you? No,I hope you never have to call the greedy police or firefighters. Idiot
For the person who posted that wants us to take a big bite of the "shit sandwich" they've had to eat for the past few years, go fuck yourself. When I can collect social security, I'll forego the pension. WE CAN NOT COLLETT SOCIAL SECURITY! Is this too hard to understand. If we all go on welfare, you will STILL have to support us through your burgeoning tax dollars. So stfu and give us what we paid for with our blood sweat and tears and shit sandwich" up your piehole.
Not sure why you think the private workers have gotten a free pass on taxes in Illinois? Illinois residents currently pay the highest overall tax burden in the nation.
Most of the blame certainly goes to the politicians in this state but the unions certainly share a big part of the blame. When you negotiate for raises and benefits that are far above the private sector and then campaign for thieving democrats...what do you expect would happen? Your politicians screwed you. The math simply fails on ever making all of the pension funds whole in this state...see ya in bankruptcy court.
http://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-be-a-taxpayer/2416/
1) To those who keep complaining that they couldnt get a Police or Fire job in the City because its all about who you know......WRONG! (Promotions might be a dif story) Police and fire jobs might not come along that often anymore but thats because the City doesnt wanna hire any more of us than they have to, but when they do you take a test. Most other union jobs in the city however are a different story,those jobs usually are given to those who have a phone call or a family member whos already there. That brings me to my other point that some idiots are bringing up where they think that since Police and Fire are unions that we mostly supported the goofs that have been entrenched in the legislature and on the 5th fl of city hall and WHO ARE TRULY TO BLAME FOR THE PENSION MESS. That assumption is mostly FALSE! Most cops and firemen DO NOT support democrats therefore either vote for a different candidate or dont vote at all (unfortunately). The unions who DO and have always supported the Daleys and Madigans and Emmanuels are the trades that involve.....CONSTRUCTION such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters etc. WHY??? Because they know politicians LOVE to keep building skyscrapers, bridges, and roads because the construction companies give HUGE kickbacks to them so as long as there are construction jobs...THOSE TRADES WILL HAVE JOBS!!! Politicians get paid, construction companies get paid and the trades working on the projects keep getting paid. NONE of that however affects police and fire whom the city could give two shits about. So before anyone starts complaining we re (police) are part of the problem for keeping these morons in office, you got your facts wrong. Finally, ive said it before but when we signed up we KNEW it meant missing events with family and working crazy hours with no sleep but still took the oath to protect all of you who complain and talk crap about us, however WE ARE ENTITLED TO WHAT WAS PROMISED TO US! *rantover*
Wait, public sector unions use massive amounts of money and political clout to get people elected who turn around and give their constituents pay, pensions, and benefits that aren't supported by taxable revenue, then they steal the money and use it for other shit, and you think the private sector citizens should step in to cover it all? No, i'll leave the state before my taxes go up 1 dollar to fund pensions, and guess what? so will a lot of other people. You aren't getting what you were promised, deal with it.
Ok do you have to worry about getting beaten,stabbed,shot,or killed? Do you have to worry about a burning structure falling in on you? No,I hope you never have to call the greedy police or firefighters. Idiot
5/11/2015 12:46:00 PM
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If I don't come to Chicago, I don't have to worry about getting beaten, stabbed, shot, or killed.
And if I did come into Chicago - would you be the one responding to the dispatch? Or would you be one of the guys who have already said they have "retired on the job" and just hide in some dark alley watching DVDs until their shift is over? What protection is that??? And that is not my opinion - that's been said on this Blog many times - "do your shift, hide, and go home, Don't respond to any calls including 10-1s."
(AND TO ME - if you are THAT jaded, you shouldn't be a cop because you are a liability to anyone who depends on you as a partner, let alone some citizen who calls for help)
You make a great case for staying out of Chicago and not spending any money in Chicago as for restaurants, hotels, events, etc.
All that tax revenue goes to pay your salary and pension. Money doesn't grow on trees.
Better look in the mirror before you call anyone an idiot. You sure aren't helping your case to get your pension funded from overburdened taxpayers.
ALL city pensions should be capped at $75.000 or $80,000. That way - no working copper (like yourself) is going to lose anything but those who are the "Pigs at the Trough" wanting more than six figures, get cut - and rightfully so.
I've seen your CPD command structure and read about all their great leadership efforts.
Goldbraid pensions? Double pensions? All that should be eliminated.
If you can't see the corruption, maybe you shouldn't even be a cop.
Everyone talks as if they can't give anything up. No one will take a 10% or 20% cut in their pension. The private sector has taken more than that in the last decade or so.
Best way to end all this is go to Bankruptcy Court and declare bankruptcy where ALL contracts and their promises become null and void.
Is that a Shit Deal? You bet your life it's a Shit Deal, but many people who worked just as hard in their jobs in the private sector went through that as their companies declared bankruptcy or just told their employees they needed to cut payroll and any one of you says "well, you should have organized" has no clue as to companies wanting no unions.
Talk like an idiot demanding everything when there is no money and the average taxpayer is going to say, you know what? Take it to Bankruptcy Court and let them figure it out.
Ever been to Bankruptcy Court, Hotshot? You'll be lucky to get 10-20 cents on the dollar and that's if FOP represents you well. No chance in Hell with that as we already know they're in bed with the Administration.
So demand everything and then settle for a nickel on every dollar that FOP "arranges" for you.
You need to understand the Pension Funds are short $159,000,000,000. You and FOP don't hold many cards. And even if you think you do, the pot is empty. More than empty.
I won't call you an idiot, but I would call you ill-informed.
1) To those who keep complaining that they couldnt get a Police or Fire job in the City because its all about who you know......WRONG! (Promotions might be a dif story)
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Promotions might be a dif story??????
What planet are you on? Or, are you a triple merit promoted hack?
Try going out for one of the better jobs - K9, SWAT, the Marine Unit, etc.
Then again, maybe your Chinaman is Charlie Chan and you can get in any job at any time. Not everyone has that type of clout.
5:36am- Wish some of you would utilize the tuition reimbursement because you cant read or just cant comprehend what was written. You apply to the dept with an entrance exam, you dont apply to the depts k9, swat, or Marine unit until you are ALREADY on the job which is when the clout angle plays a role. Read the comments before you respond to others people.
Signed: No clout, no D2A....only a blue shirt with 6 more yrs to go.
"$3000 vouchers for section 8. I rest my case."
5/10/2015 08:24:00 AM
They cut that luxury-apartment stuff real fast when the story got out. I wonder who those people knew?
Section 8 is a lottery, held very infrequently -- every several years. Not like you can just walk in -- tens of thousands on the waiting lists.
It is not the cornucopia of free everything out there that a lot of people think. An "Obamaphone" equivalent can be had at a drugstore for about $4.99. Gives maybe 250 minutes/month for emergencies, very basic communication. A LINK card for one person goes about $173.00/month -- sometimes much less.
Large "blended families" in which no two people have the same last name, illegal aliens, and people with a "social service agency" behind them pushing and making phone calls and interpreting and filling out forms for them, and so forth seem to do a lot better. So do some other groups. One employed guy I talked to lived in a perfect-repair brick bungalow with new cars and a new Harley on the new driveway, and was getting free high-speed Internet at home because a child was "qualified for the school-lunch program."
...and breakfast, and dinner, the way it's going.
It's topsy-turvy -- and a lot of people who need some help the most get the least.
Yes, we are in another financial and real-estate "bubble;" they have started up that "get all the cash you'll ever need -- free -- by flipping houses" stuff again, just like in the wild period between 2000 and 2008.
The monster will drag us all down, my friend.
I eat DOG food as opposed to cat food.
There's a reason fot that choice.
And if you are a cop, you will understand the invisible humor there.
It is ok, let the civilians bash the police and our pension. Most of the cops and fireman do not have a 6 figure pension or anything close to it. Now the civilians want to state tax pensions. I wonder what they will say when the political class comes after their social security? Right now they are thinking of means testing social security that is if you have money saved you will get less . The democrats already took social security away from the police fire and teachers, the civilians are next. And, if the state taxes our pension then they surely will tax your social security and medicare, all of which are running out of money.Most retired cops and firefighters that I know are far from rich, many had to go back to work after retirement.
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