4 ms·

Nobody is proposing to just pull the rug out on pensions. We need to transition to a more sustainable option.

• manuelabeledo 5y ago
  Why aren't pensions sustainable? Honest question. At least in the US, there seems to be more than enough money to keep several branches going. The military just got $20 billion extra this year. Foreign aid is around $45 billion a year. It's not that there isn't enough tax money.
  • maxerickson 5y ago
    They inevitably fall into the trap of promising that benefits will be paid for in the future. At a national level that is probably okay, at a municipal level it means that people that leave a city get services that they don't pay for, and future residents pay for services they didn't benefit from. It's a terrible alignment.
    • manuelabeledo 5y ago
      You are describing pensions. That's how pensions work, and have been working for decades now. Would creating a national pension system work better?
      • maxerickson 5y ago
        No, I'm making a particular point about public pensions. They should be fully funded during the vesting period or not exist, except maybe at the national level. Note the "paid for" in "paid for in the future".
  • thehappypm 5y ago
    Sustainable implies “don’t need to print money forever”.