Post by Logan on Feb 28, 2016 1:49:45 GMT -6
Philadelphia's pension crisis, as Finance Director Rob Dubow has noted, is unfolding like the plot of the science fiction classic The Blob. The movie's menace started as a small, gelatinous lump found outside Phoenixville. The more it ate, the bigger it got, until it threatened to engulf the entire town.
The city pension fund's ravenous appetite has more than doubled in 15 years. It now devours 15 percent of Philadelphia's general fund. That's money that won't be spent on services like caring for abused children or staffing libraries.
This fiscal year, city taxpayers are expected to feed $612 million to pensions, which is a little less than the Police Department's budget. It's expected to be even more expensive next year.
Making matters worse, as The Inquirer's Claudia Vargas reported recently, the fund's assets performed so poorly last year that it lost $220 million of its value - roughly enough to run the city's prisons. That would be significant even if the pension fund were healthy, but it isn't: It has only 46 percent of what it needs to meet its projected obligations.
Read more: www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20160225_Beware_of_the_Philly_pension_blob.html
The city pension fund's ravenous appetite has more than doubled in 15 years. It now devours 15 percent of Philadelphia's general fund. That's money that won't be spent on services like caring for abused children or staffing libraries.
This fiscal year, city taxpayers are expected to feed $612 million to pensions, which is a little less than the Police Department's budget. It's expected to be even more expensive next year.
Making matters worse, as The Inquirer's Claudia Vargas reported recently, the fund's assets performed so poorly last year that it lost $220 million of its value - roughly enough to run the city's prisons. That would be significant even if the pension fund were healthy, but it isn't: It has only 46 percent of what it needs to meet its projected obligations.
Read more: www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20160225_Beware_of_the_Philly_pension_blob.html