[Locke]

Public Sector Pensions are a matter of huge contention because they have proven to be a monumental burden on Government resources and not just Detroit but various other Jurisdictions around the world have had to curtail them as well.

The fact of the matter is that they're effectively a Ponzi scheme.

The people that are collecting them are receiving a pension at times for as long or even longer than their term of service.

How does that work? How can someone contribute 10% of their pay for 30 years to collect 70% of their pay for another 30?

It doesnt. Especially when the ratios of working:retired keep dropping.

I dont want to single out Teachers right now its just the only current figure I have off the top of my head but 25 years ago the ration of working teachers to retired teachers was something like 10:1, currently it sits at 2:1.

Thats not sustainable so they have to take cash to pay out these pensions from somewhere.

And the examples that we've seen in struggling jurisdictions indicate that these benefits are among the first to be slashed and burned when it all hits the fan leaving these people in dire straights.

So whats the prudent solution? A planned and thought-out re-structure to a sustainable model or just screwing the hell out of people when the money just simply ceases to exist? Because that time will come.

Either plan and be ready for it or roll the dice.