Stuff in the ‘Pension and Benefit Crisis’ Category
New Brookings Report: NJ Teachers’ Pension Fund on Path to “Near-Term” Insolvency
Posted OnApril 14, 2021 byIn the wonky world of pensions, a new report by the Brookings Institution made some news because of its rather optimistic take on the fate of America’s public pensions. The authors argue that due to recent reforms, in the long run, most plans are sustainable with relatively modest adjustments. Except for New Jersey’s Teachers’ Pension and…Read More
Senate President Sweeney Regrets Borrowing $4.3 Billion in Very Expensive Bonds
Posted OnMarch 26, 2021 byIt’s the rare occasion when a New Jersey politician is honest with the public, so kudos to Senate President Steve Sweeney for telling it straight. NorthJersey.com reports that Sweeney now regrets the 2020 issuance of $4.3 billion in bonds in expectation of COVID-related revenue shortfalls. And rightfully so. Even though the $4.3 billion in bonds…Read More
Kudos to the Record’s Charlie Stile: Borrowing $4.3 Billion to Make a $6.4 Billion Pension Payment is POBs All Over Again.
Posted OnFebruary 25, 2021 byThe Record’s Charlie Stile is one of the very few people in NJ who recognize that Gov. Murphy is effectively reprising the disastrous 1997 Pension Obligation Bonds (POBs) of Gov. Whitman. The $2.75 billion in POBs will ultimately cost NJ more than $10 billion. That’s the reason the legislature subsequently banned POBs. Per Stile: “Yet, Murphy’s rescue…Read More
Rather Than Borrow Money and Invest in Risky Assets to Juice Returns, NJ Should Reform Its Public Pension System
Posted OnJanuary 22, 2021 byWe’re going to get a little wonkish here and delve into the mechanics of pensions because NJ’s public pensions are a disaster waiting to happen. At 38%, they are the worst funded public pensions in the nation. Absent a federal bailout, NJ is going to hit a budgetary wall in the relatively near future. In…Read More
NJEA Claims Sunlight’s Pension Report Has “Many Inaccuracies.” Our Response: Name One.
Posted OnDecember 15, 2020 byThe NJEA responded to an NJTV piece (go to minute 19:00) on Sunlight’s recent report on teachers’ pensions by claiming it had “many inaccuracies.” Sunlight asks the NJEA to name one. The NJEA will not be able to because Sunlight’s report is factual, with all data and assertions sourced and footnoted. The NJEA also claims…Read More
NJEA Leadership Ignore the Facts and Actively Mislead Teachers about their Pensions
Posted OnDecember 9, 2020 byAs reported in POLITICO, Sunlight just released its second report on teachers’ pensions: “Ugly Truths and Hard Facts about New Jersey’s Pension Crisis, Part II: NJEA Leadership Has Secure, Gold-Plated Pensions, While Teachers’ Pensions are Inferior and at Risk.” The title says it all: the NJEA leadership can sleep well at night knowing that their…Read More
Forbes Magazine: NJ Is the Most Indebted State. Yet Gov. Murphy Will Borrow $4.5 Billion More.
Posted OnDecember 1, 2020 byEveryone knows the old saying: “If you find yourself in a deep hole, stop digging.” But in his haste to please his public sector union pals, Gov. Murphy keeps digging the hole deeper. In the end, it is NJ citizens who will pay the price. Forbes Magazine recently updated just how deep NJ’s debt hole…Read More
Just as Night Follows Day, Gov. Murphy Borrows $4.5 Billion and S&P Downgrades NJ to BBB+
Posted OnNovember 9, 2020 byBond-rating agency S&P Global downgraded NJ’s debt rating from A- to BBB+, making NJ one of only two states (along with broke IL) to have a BBB-rating, which is only one notch above “junk” ratings. When bond ratings go down, bond borrowing costs go up, so this is bad news for NJ. S&P cited NJ’s…Read More
Senate Pension Reform Bill Makes Some Necessary Changes but Needs More
Posted OnOctober 14, 2020 byTony Howley of Americans for Prosperity NJ penned an op-ed in the Star-Ledger supporting Senate President Sweeney’s S-861 bill based on his Path to Progress pension reform recommendations. These are sensible and necessary reforms that protect existing pensions but try to put NJ on a more sustainable path. The path we are currently on is not sustainable….Read More
Pew Charitable Trust Pension Update: NJ Is Dead Last Among the States
Posted OnOctober 8, 2020 byThis isn’t new news but it’s also not good news. Pew Charitable Trusts updated its pension study to include 2018 data, and NJ comes in dead last among the 50 states. NJ only has 38 cents set aside for each dollar it owes. That means that 62 cents of every dollar owed is an unfunded…Read More