This thread illustrates why the Chinese want collateral for any new treasury puchases.
Quote from ByLoSellHi:
Public pensions in the U.S. had total liabilities of $2.9 trillion as of Dec. 16, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Their total assets are about 30 percent less than that, at $2 trillion.
With stock market losses this year, public pensions in the U.S. are now underfunded by more than $1 trillion...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=alwTE0Z5.1EA&refer=home
Quote from ByLoSellHi:
Hidden Pension Fiasco May Foment Another $1 Trillion Bailout by Taxpayers
By David Evans
March 3 (Bloomberg) -- The Chicago Transit Authority retirement plan had a $1.5 billion hole in its stash of assets in 2007. At the height of a four-year bull market, it didnât have enough cash on hand to pay its retirees through 2013, meaning it was underfunded to the tune of 62 percent.
The CTA, which manages the second-largest public transit system in the U.S....
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=alwTE0Z5.1EA&refer=home
Quote from lrm21:
Its time to pay.. Those who are responsible..those who can hunt..who are hungry.. who man up..who want to build something real..will survive and prosper..those who cower..who hope..who worry..who look for a savior..chop em up and feed em to the wolves..Darwin is calling.
Quote from achilles28:
Can't say I feel bad for all the parasitic Government dog-fucks that went grossly over-paid and under-worked their entire careers....
If there's any solace, however perverse, I find in this looming Depression/Mass Raping: the Boomers, Government sand-baggers and Unions are gonna take it up the ass, just as hard as the average laymen whose carried their degenerate asses for the past X Decades.
Quote from Joe Doaks:
Last time I looked, private pension funds had a similar sized unfunded liability, so make that TWO trillion!
No, wait! Include Unsociable Insecurity and the total is THREE!
But that's no proble, just $9K for every man, woman and child in the US. We can afford it. Just have a one time "wealth tax."