Dallas Stares Down a Texas-Size Threat of Bankruptcy

DALLAS — Picture the next major American city to go bankrupt. What springs to mind? Probably not the swagger and sprawl of Dallas.But there was Dallas’s mayor, Michael S. Rawlings, testifying this month to a state oversight board that his city appeared to be “walking into the fan blades” of municipal bankruptcy.
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To many in Dallas, the hole in the pension fund seems to have blown open overnight. But in fact, the fuse was lit back in 1993, when state lawmakers sweetened police and firefighter pensions beyond the wildest dreams of the typical Dallas resident. They added individual savings accounts, paying 8.5 percent interest per year, when workers reached the normal retirement age, then 50. The goal was to keep seasoned veterans on the force longer.
Guaranteed 8.5 percent interest, on tap indefinitely for thousands of people, would of course cost a fortune. But state lawmakers made it look “cost neutral,” records show, by fixing Dallas's annual pension contributions at 36 percent of the police and firefighters’ payroll. It would all work as long as the payroll grew by 5 percent every year — which it did not — and if the pension fund earned 9 percent annually on its investments.
Buck Consultants, the plan’s actuarial firm, warned that those assumptions were shaky, and that the changes did not comply with the rules of the state Pension Review Board.
“The Legislature clearly ignored that,” Mr. Kleinman said. The plan’s current actuary, Segal Consulting, reported in July that 23 years of unmet goals had left Dallas with a hidden pension debt of almost $7 billion.

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In his meeting with the trustees, Senator Whitmire recalled that in 1993 he had voted enthusiastically for the plan that sent the pension fund on its ill-fated quest for 9 percent investment returns.
“We all know some of the benefits, guaranteed, were just probably never realistic,” he said. “It was good while it lasted, but we’ve got some serious financial problems because of it.”

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Renae said:

[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR]
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/business/dealbook/dallas-pension-debt-threat-of-bankruptcy.html

I'd like to point out the Governor at that time was Democrat Ann Richards:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Texas

And at the time the House and Senate were Dem controlled:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventy-third_Texas_Legislature



I will give the NYTimes credit, they pointed out this started in '93. I hope people make that connection and start rejecting promises that are just too good to be true.

I leave you with the words, an understatement as big as Texas, by one of the fools that voted for this mess:

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d0gbreath said:

Let's come back to today.

The pensions and salaries are going up. After the senseless massacre of 5 Dallas Policemen, many Dallas Police are leaving and going to Ft. Worth, Mid-cities, Arlington, etc. because the pay is higher and the danger is less.

PS, we have a GOP Governor now.

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reinoe said:

Promises that are too good to be true are the politician's bread and butter.

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Renae said:

[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR]
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/business/dealbook/dallas-pension-debt-threat-of-bankruptcy.html

I'd like to point out the Governor at that time was Democrat Ann Richards:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Texas

And at the time the House and Senate were Dem controlled:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventy-third_Texas_Legislature



I will give the NYTimes credit, they pointed out this started in '93. I hope people make that connection and start rejecting promises that are just too good to be true.

I leave you with the words, an understatement as big as Texas, by one of the fools that voted for this mess:

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ocean515 said:

To get to the Nexis of this disastrous policy move that states adopted for their Public Employee Union masters across the Nation, one needs to look at California, and Democrat Governor Gray Davis and his liberal/socialist progressives in the State Legislature.

David Crane: California's Pension Fiasco and the Great Nondisclosure of 1999 - WSJ

In 1999 then California Governor Gray Davis signed into law a bill that represented the largest issuance of non-voter-approved debt in the state's history. The bill SB 400 granted billions of dollars in retroactive pension boosts to state employees, allowing retirements as young as age 50 with lifetime pensions of up to 90% of final year salaries. The California Public Employees' Retirement System sold the pension boost to the state legislature by promising that "no increase over current employer contributions is needed for these benefit improvements" and that Calpers would "remain fully funded." They also claimed that enhanced pensions would not cost taxpayers "a dime" because investment bets would cover the expense.​

Bowing to pressure from their Union owners, and citing California as the standard, Texas at the time, Illinios, and many other Democrat led states adopted similar policies.

How many stories have been written about cities and states buried under this pension scam perpetrated by the Public Employee Unions?

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Renae said:

Yes, we do. Now. He didn't start this mess, in fact, the GOP wasn't the cause of this mess, but people will try to blame them.

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reinoe said:

Hehe. I'm heartened to see these states getting what they deserve. And with Trump in the White House, you better believe there won't be any bailouts.

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ocean515 said:

To get to the Nexis of this disastrous policy move that states adopted for their Public Employee Union masters across the Nation, one needs to look at California, and Democrat Governor Gray Davis and his liberal/socialist progressives in the State Legislature.

David Crane: California's Pension Fiasco and the Great Nondisclosure of 1999 - WSJ

In 1999 then California Governor Gray Davis signed into law a bill that represented the largest issuance of non-voter-approved debt in the state's history. The bill SB 400 granted billions of dollars in retroactive pension boosts to state employees, allowing retirements as young as age 50 with lifetime pensions of up to 90% of final year salaries. The California Public Employees' Retirement System sold the pension boost to the state legislature by promising that "no increase over current employer contributions is needed for these benefit improvements" and that Calpers would "remain fully funded." They also claimed that enhanced pensions would not cost taxpayers "a dime" because investment bets would cover the expense.​

Bowing to pressure from their Union owners, and citing California as the standard, Texas at the time, Illinios, and many other Democrat led states adopted similar policies.

How many stories have been written about cities and states buried under this pension scam perpetrated by the Public Employee Unions?

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reinoe said:

Hehe. I'm heartened to see these states getting what they deserve. And with Trump in the White House, you better believe there won't be any bailouts.

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d0gbreath said:

Wow! Governor Gray Davis in 1999! We are moving toward today!

Every CA Gov. since has been GOP. They didn't want to change the pension plan.

Police and FFs are eligible to retire sweetly at age 50. Hell, most FFs haven't done much here during their brief working lives. A dangerous job yes! Some have died. The point is: People are talking about moving that measly pittance called SS to age 70. They might as well lower the Cops and FFs to 40 while they are at it.

People live quite a few years past age 50 on average. Every year throws some more onto the dole. Money going out in extreme amounts. I cannot believe that GOP Governors would allow this to happen. It's just difficult to take away from the city's finest. The townspeople would be up in arms.

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Renae said:

[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR]
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/business/dealbook/dallas-pension-debt-threat-of-bankruptcy.html

I'd like to point out the Governor at that time was Democrat Ann Richards:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Texas

And at the time the House and Senate were Dem controlled:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventy-third_Texas_Legislature



I will give the NYTimes credit, they pointed out this started in '93. I hope people make that connection and start rejecting promises that are just too good to be true.

I leave you with the words, an understatement as big as Texas, by one of the fools that voted for this mess:

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d0gbreath said:

I'm not trying to blame anyone.

Going back to Governor Ann Richards in 1993 just seems a bit lame. Every Gov. since her has been GOP. They could have changed her original ordinance.

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ocean515 said:

Wow indeed. The California Supreme Court ruled the contract can't be changed. There is nothing that can be done.

You might want to pay closer attention to what you're posting, if credibility is important to you.

FYI - Democrat Governor Jerry Brown has been Governor of California since 2011. The Terminator was a Republican Governor after Davis was recalled. Turns out Ahnold was a fraud, so there is that. Kind of answers how he could be married to a Kennedy family member at the time.

Every California Gov has been Republican since Gray Davis?

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d0gbreath said:

Let's come back to today.

The pensions and salaries are going up. After the senseless massacre of 5 Dallas Policemen, many Dallas Police are leaving and going to Ft. Worth, Mid-cities, Arlington, etc. because the pay is higher and the danger is less.

PS, we have a GOP Governor now.

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Renae said:

Yes, we do. Now. He didn't start this mess, in fact, the GOP wasn't the cause of this mess, but people will try to blame them.

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ocean515 said:

Wow indeed. The California Supreme Court ruled the contract can't be changed. There is nothing that can be done.

You might want to pay closer attention to what you're posting, if credibility is important to you.

FYI - Democrat Governor Jerry Brown has been Governor of California since 2011. The Terminator was a Republican Governor after Davis was recalled. Turns out Ahnold was a fraud, so there is that. Kind of answers how he could be married to a Kennedy family member at the time.

Every California Gov has been Republican since Gray Davis?

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American said:

Do we know how the pension has performed over time?

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Fenton said:

Wow, Dallas is quite the **** hole these days. As a native Houstonian I remember going up to Dallas in the 80's when it was the envy of the State.

A year ago I went up to Dallas on bussiness and it was dirty, crowded and over run with illegals

A few years ago Parkland Hospital reported that 2/3 of their births were to illegal immigrants

If your in Downtown Dallas just a two streets over on the East side of Dallas puts you in Tijuana

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Fenton said:

Wow, Dallas is quite the **** hole these days. As a native Houstonian I remember going up to Dallas in the 80's when it was the envy of the State.

A year ago I went up to Dallas on bussiness and it was dirty, crowded and over run with illegals

A few years ago Parkland Hospital reported that 2/3 of their births were to illegal immigrants

If your in Downtown Dallas just a two streets over on the East side of Dallas puts you in Tijuana

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apdst said:

How much revenue have they pissed away?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rt.com/document/100000000000001000137178/amp

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d0gbreath said:

I was in Houston three weeks ago. Stand still gridlock on the highways is your greatest feature. That and your football team sucks.

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