Birdboxing on NJ Hybrid

The Path to Progress report recommends a hybrid plan for newer New Jersey public sector employees and a logical question is how much would the new plan save, if anything. That question was asked at a town hall meeting last week:
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Basically that’s an “I don’t know” but we have these reports and meetings going on so it would be embarrassing to admit that the dialogue being had is rooted in ignorance. So Sweeney’s full response takes a winding trail that goes absolutely nowhere:

$43K for NJ Teacher Health Care Costs?

The number came into question at last week’s town hall meeting:
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The Path to Progress report does not have the number. So where could it have come from?

Politically Incorrect Film Clips

My current entertainment obsession is with websites where you can download old films (rarelust.com, rarefilmm.com, archive.org) that include scenes which, though not pornographic, would be unlikely to get past censors these days.

Here are some clips (which I plan on adding to in this blog post as I come across them):

S2606 Debate in NJ

Another fissure within the Democrat party in New Jersey concerns how much to give to public employees in benefits with one side, as represented by State Senator and bonding addict Joe Cryan, pushing for more with S2606 while State Senate president and alleged nazi Steve Sweeney wants cut (as long as they don’t impact George Norcross). The internecine battle played out this week at Union County College:
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and in the opinion pages of the Star Ledger yesterday:

The Negative Amortization Blog

The Society of Actuaries’ study comparing pension plan contributions to benchmarks that represent contribution levels needed to reduce unfunded liabilities included Appendix D on the two means of amortizing unfunded liabilities (which unironically always seem to develop under public plan funding methods) which, again unironically, makes this point:

“While negative amortization is generally a concern, the CCA white paper on funding policies advises that, in some situations, negative amortization may be consistent with policy objectives”

Yes, policy objectives of politicians who do not want to pay for what they are promising. Hence we get this ludicrous concept as acceptable in a world where such cover-for-theft can be purchased.

Let’s look at how negative amortization would work if banks allowed you to do it to pay off your mortgage.

Reducing the Curve for NJ Pensions

At last night’s town hall meeting State Senate President Steve Sweeney explained how he sees selling state assets to the retirement system as “reducing the curve” (which sounds better than “shorting the system”):
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Full Q&A on the subject:

Path to Egress Town Hall in Union County

Tonight’s town hall in Union County on reform of, among many other things, public pensions provided several vivid examples of why anyone who can leave New Jersey will:

• Scattershot format with nobody even mildly informed on the real situation,
• An audience of mostly public union employees who thankfully overwhelmed the 30 politicoes looking for photo-ops and applause (which they mostly got from each other), and
• Legitimate frustration on all sides with no answers beyond that ‘actuaries are working on it.”

Here is the full video with the times I deemed something notable was said (or shouted out) below: