$5 Trillion Price Tag for Public Pensions~ When is enough enough?

[richardhutnik]

mrstickball said:

sethnintendo said:

@Soleron, while your views might represent the private market decently, you are failing to realize the entire job market. Take my degree for instance (Wildlife and Fisheries Management). Sure I could find a private sector job that might stick up for the environment (while most private jobs involving this degree probably would be arguing for more lax rules) but there are very few. My main chance to use my degree would be working as a park ranger, controlled burn specialist, zoo keeper, etc. My degree mainly involves public jobs. Wildlife jobs are one of the first to be cut and if there are a bunch of old park rangers staying in their job then that means no job for me. Try getting a job in the Wildlife sector that adheres to your values then get back to me. Sure I probably chose a terrible degree but it is the old people staying in their jobs that is keeping me from being able to obtain a wildlife job.  Case in point there isn't enough wildlife jobs for all the wildlife majors.

No one said there were an infinite number of wildlife jobs.

Economics, and the creation of wealth is not zero-sum. Just because there may be a hard cap on some jobs (say doctorates queer/feminist history and gender studies) doesn't mean that there can't be jobs for, say, nuclear physists or oil engineers. The number of available jobs will skyrocket in the next 50 years as we head out into space, making employment virtually limitless - if you're willing to get the right jobs.

As for the pension dillema - this shows you why you can't guarentee benefits for life when you haven't actually created the retirement account for the worker. Everyone loves to rip on 401Ks and how the stock market is a poor way to retire, yet public pensions are far worse - at least 401Ks have actual funding behind them.

The economy is what it is.  There is elements that is zero sum, like market share (this is spoken as red ocean).  There is also some areas where it is negative sum, where automation results in there being actually less employment for people, and wealth accumulating in fewer and fewer hands.  You can also have some growth to which means the net amount of economic activity increases, and by its nature, economies not throttled too much on top, will try to end up organizing the natural order in such a way, that more things gain value and enable currency to flow to have it priced and optimized.  However, there is NO guaranty this ordering will not result in large numbers of people not even making enough to live on, or have basics like medical and shelter.