Thursday, October 18, 2012

Public Pension promises easy to make, hard to keep

Public Pension crisis--promises too easy to make, and so hard to keep.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep. 
But I have promises to keep, 
And miles to go before I sleep, 
And miles to go before I sleep.
 --Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Warren Buffett on pension fund investment return assumptions. | DavidGCrane: "Whatever pension-cost surprises are in store for shareholders down the road, these jolts will be surpassed many times over by those experienced by taxpayers. Public pension promises are huge and, in many cases, funding is woefully inadequate. Because the fuse on this time bomb is long, politicians flinch from inflicting tax pain, given that problems will only become apparent long after these officials have departed. Promises involving very early retirement – sometimes to those in their low 40s – and generous cost-of-living adjustments are easy for these officials to make. In a world where people are living longer and inflation is certain, those promises will be anything but easy to keep."

Link to full report: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/2007ar/2007ar.pdf

    

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