zlacker

>>rntn+(OP)
Not all, and they are rarer today, pensions were totally insane back in the day.

One of my mothers friends, who is now in her 80's, has been retired on a pension for over 40 years. She started working for her municipality right out of high school at 18, and worked 25 years as a clerk to get a full pension. Retired at 43(!) with 75% final pay (annually adjusted) and lifelong medical benefits.

Its totally insane and completely unsustainable. Back in the day people usually keeled over at 65 and the US was viewed as having achieved infinite growth forever, so perhaps back then it was a reasonable but generous offer. Today however it's just straight up corruption and waste to offer benefits like that.

>>Workac+7f
It’s not her fault that she lucked out

>>nextwo+4g
It's not about fault, it's about providing better than you got for your children and grandchildren. If you - and the people compensated with the same equities that fund your pension - are putting substantial downward pressure on earnings for the current generation of laborers and it's having all sorts of knock-on effects, you're failing to provide better for those coming after you.

>>lenerd+hh
You can’t solve that by taking away existing pensions. If that’s your preferred method of balancing budgets then expect no sympathy when your company cancels your RSUs

>>nextwo+Jh
> can’t solve that by taking away existing pensions

Of course you can. Pensions are a form of debt. If the state is bankrupt, it's reasonable to trim its creditors. Pensioners included. (The politically-savvy way to do this is probably to spin off the pension fund as its own entity and then default on bonds, which the pension fund would hold alongside others. Then leave it to the pensioners to figure out how they haircut themselves.)

>>JumpCr+sk
You could also raise taxes as an alternative. I realize this won't be popular with some, however its not unreasonable, depending on how you do it.

>>no_wiz+9l
> You could also raise taxes as an alternative

The tax base is mobile in a way expenses are not.

I'll speak to this personally. In April 2021 New York City raised its top tax rates. I'm only moderately wealthy, but that prompted my moving out of the state.

>>JumpCr+Bl
This is an even better argument for universal pensions (which isn't Social Security, as was never meant to be treated as a pension to begin with)

Same as universal healthcare, seems like you net benefit by removing these burdens from localities and businesses.