Thursday, December 23, 2010

Canary in the Alabama coal mine

The NY Times has a story this morning about a town where the pension fund ran dry, and it couldn't pay out promised benefits. So they didn't. Take note of "Alabama town's failed pension is a warning."

Yeah, it's against state law, but you can't squeeze money from a stone. This sentence in particular could have been lifted from any one of my dozens of posts on Social Security and/or pension reform: "...if nothing changes, the money does eventually run out, and when that happens, misery and turmoil follows."

That's depressing. You know what's easier? Let's just pretend that the Social Security Trust Fund is a real thing, piled high with saved cash. Ahhhhh...much better. Now who wants hot chocolate?!

Extra - WSJ: "For cities and towns facing unsustainable pension costs, the end game may look something like Prichard, Alabama."

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