Study: To Fund Public Pensions, Taxes Must be Raised $1,400 Every Year for 30 Years | The Weekly Standard

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11:15 PM, Jun 22, 2011 • By MARK HEMINGWAY

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It's really quite remarkable that the problems of public pensions were even allowed to get this bad:

U.S. state and local governments will need to raise taxes by $1,398 per household every year for the next 30 years if they are to fully fund their pension systems, a study released on Wednesday said.

The study, co-authored by Joshua Rauh of Northwestern University and Robert Novy-Marx of the University of Rochester, both of whom are finance professors, argues that states will have to cut services or raise taxes to make up funding gaps if promises made to municipal employees are to be honored.

Pension funding in U.S. cities and states has deteriorated in the wake of the 2007-2009 economic recession as investment earnings dropped, and some states, such as New Jersey and Illinois, skipped or reduced required payments.

Something tells me that the American people aren't about to sit idly by while their annual tax bill increases by $42,000 so government workers can keep their exorbitant benefits.

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pensions, public sector unions, study, Taxes, Unions

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