Shocking, isn't it? The Republican economic model that saved everyone from higher taxes and liberated business from the hassles of government interference is now going to force government at all levels to raise taxes and increase regulation. Brilliant work but what do you expect from the people who are in love with Sarah Palin and who still think Dick Cheney is what we need? These are the same people who are screaming about Marx and socialism even though they're own team has instituted the largest government intervention into business in decades. How's that "let business self regulate" theory going?
The market downturn is ravaging public pension funds across the United States, with many state and local governments seeing more than 20 percent of their retirement pools swept away in the turmoil.
Even before the financial crisis, many large pension funds already were considered to be inadequately funded, according to the Government Accountability Office. The losses could force some states and local governments to ask taxpayers to pay more into the funds or to demand more contributions from the police, teachers and other government employees whom the benefits cover.
Public pension funds dropped 14.8 percent in value for the year ended Sept. 30, according to Northern Trust, an investment company. The funds, which typically have most of their money in stocks, have probably dropped far more than that because the markets have dropped 20 percent more since then.
"We expect this is going to be the worst year we've seen since we've been tracking the funds," said William Frieske, of Northern Trust Investment Risk and Analytical Services, which began watching the funds 14 years ago. "It's got all the hallmarks of a bad -- really bad -- year."
