'Hands off our pensions,' say hundreds of Detroit city workers, retirees protest

[Ptarmigan]

'Hands off our pensions,' say hundreds of Detroit city workers, retirees protesting today's bankruptcy hearing
http://www.freep.com/article/20131023/NEWS01/310230068/retirees-pensions-protest-bankruptcy-Detroit

Hundreds of Detroit retirees and city workers are waving flags, carry signs and chanting outside Detroit’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy hearing this morning.

By the time the hearing started at 9 a.m., more than 300 protesters were marching in front of the federal courthouse on West Lafayette as police blocked the road.

“Hands off our pensions! Make the banks pay!” chanted protesters.

No wonder why Detroit is so broke. 

[Dori]

'Hands off our pensions,' say hundreds of Detroit city workers, retirees protesting today's bankruptcy hearing
http://www.freep.com/article/20131023/NEWS01/310230068/retirees-pensions-protest-bankruptcy-Detroit

No wonder why Detroit is so broke. 

I don't know, but is this possibility part of negotiations between the city and their unions/employees?  You would think it would be in writing.  But I guess these pensions are like social security, a Ponzi scheme. 

[Bad Dog]

I don't know, but is this possibility part of negotiations between the city and their unions/employees?  You would think it would be in writing.  But I guess these pensions are like social security, a Ponzi scheme. 

When you go bankrupt all your creditors have to get in line.  I'm sure the banks, bondholders, and other creditors had solid contracts. And yes, Detroit has been a Ponzi scheme for many years. 

[Freeper]

Don't forget Romney would have just let Detroit go bankrupt.

[rich_t]

Don't forget Romney would have just let Detroit go bankrupt.

And he would have been right to do so IMO.

[ExGeeEye]

And he would have been right to do so IMO.

agreed.

[Eupher]

The quicker that seeping cesspool goes belly-up, the quicker the place can be bulldozed to start all over.

It's a 3rd world hellhole and deserves absolutely no assistance of any kind until the f'n Democrats and the unions get run out of town on a rail.

With the Dems in power, it's little more than a black hole into which money is poured, resulting in only the political elite class and their cronies getting rich.

[Gina]

I do feel sorry for people that worked their whole lives to get the pensions possibly losing them.  Even if they voted for the wrong people.  How can they start over at that age?

[Freeper]

And he would have been right to do so IMO.

Yes he would have, but 0bama said it would have been a bad thing, yet it happens under his watch and not a word.

[J P Sousa]

They didn't just get "normal retirement benefits", they got bonuses on top.

Detroit’s municipal pension fund made payments for decades to retirees, active workers and others above and beyond normal benefits, costing the struggling city billions of dollars and helping push it into bankruptcy, according to people who have reviewed the payments.

The payments, which were not publicly disclosed, included bonuses to retirees, supplements to workers not yet retired and cash to the families of workers who died before becoming eligible to collect a pension, according to reports by an outside actuary and other people with knowledge of the matter.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/undisclosed-payments-cost-detroit-pension-plan-billions/?_r=0
  

[Maxiest]

Don't forget Romney would have just let Detroit go bankrupt.

BWHAHAHAHAHAH!~