Public meetings tend to be mostly ritual and ceremony as agendas have been set and what's left for the participants is to follow their program and hit their marks. But occasionally some real truth is revealed, albeit inadvertently. On Thursday, June 26, 2008, it all boiled over as the public (two people this time) questioned what they perceived to... Full story »

Gov. Jon Corzine apparently gave newly hired teachers this year a break when he delayed signing the new pension reform law that should have applied to them. Maybe some unspoken agreement was fulfilled. Maybe he just forgot. Maybe he was otherwise occupied. Whatever the reason when we break it down to real money what this will mean for most... Full story »

Two "real" news stories about New Jersey seemed to fall through the cracks while the whole idiotic show of the political conventions is going on. Calling the Republican & Democrats conventions "news" is like calling Action Comics "history" or The Dark Knight an act of "improvisation". Let's face it, the only honest people, the only ones which make actual... Full story »

Last Friday a New Jersey state appeals court rebuffed efforts by two unions (NJEA and CWA) to keep pension assets away from hedge funds. Aside from any investment impact of the decision, the fact that this case was even brought and adjudicated makes it clear most parties understand that state worker pensions can be forfeited. Why would the NJEA... Full story »

In 2004 a group of Enrolled Actuaries formed their own organization, COPA (College of Pension Actuaries), in part because they believed that the group most of them belonged to, ASPA (American Society of Pension Actuaries), was deemphasizing actuarial for 401(k) issues. COPA will have their annual conference this weekend in Chicago. It will be their last one. I joined... Full story »

This week my family and I are spending in Virginia on vacation. Yesterday we dragged our kids from New Jersey to Virginia in what seemed to be bumper to bumper traffic the whole way, we stopped at Washington DC for a bit and yesterday we spent the whole day at Mt. Vernon. For those of us who are amateur... Full story »

When looking over our budget this year my wife, may she live a long life, mentioned that we need a new driveway, so maybe we should incorporate that as a "monthly bill" until we save enough money. I told her that we don't need to do that, when the time comes I'll simply march into my boss' office and... Full story »

On August 14, 1935 Social Security came into existence. While most programs birthed by FDR's New Deal have passed away, Social Security survives. But should it? I think not but it isn't for the obvious reasons. Yes, it's a Ponzi scheme. Yes, there are abuses. Yes, demographic changes will accelerate costs rapidly in the near future. But the program... Full story »

The movie, An Inconvenient Truth, sparked the awareness that our world is facing a dire global environmental disaster unless the people do something to stem the laissez- faire and glibness of governments worldwide. Likewise, an upcoming independent movie appropriately entitled I.O.U. USA will soon bring awareness of the fiscal crises facing the American people if nothing is done to... Full story »

Most government workers in New Jersey have a definite plan for their retirements and, for an increasing number with a choice, the only thing they would ever again want to see from New Jersey is a postmark. Roughly one in four pension checks are sent out of state. That's about $1.5 billion being transferred to other states to be... Full story »

While driving home from work I like to listen to "The Jersey Guys" on 101.5 FM, I don't always agree with them but I enjoy their program which makes my commute easier, sometimes I even learn a thing or two. Yesterday, between 17:00 & 18:00 was probably one of the most important hours of radio I have heard in... Full story »

The recent chest thumping & back slapping in Trenton over Attorney General Anne Milgram's traffic woes and State Senators Ray Lesniak (D-Union) and Joe Cryan (D-Union) turning in Assemblyman Cohen has amused me to no end. The state-of-the-state and our distrust in our elected and appointed officials has reached such a new low that we are amazed when the... Full story »

Because a good question was asked in my prior post and I can't seem to get comments through on it, here's my take on why I believe big Defined Benefit plans have always been underfunded, in Q&A format. Q: Were any defined benefits pension plans ever solvent under your criteria? A: No. Primarily because of the use of mortality... Full story »

In preparation for my last Fox/Business show appearance to discuss the dire situation of the Defined Benefit pension system in this country I decided to research on what participants in these plans need to know by picking a media company at random and checking out that plan's funded status. So I looked on freeerisa.com and my mouse-dart landed on... Full story »

Do you want to commit a crime and never pay for it? According to Brian C. Kalt, a professor of law at MSU you have to go to Yellowstone Park (read why), but why go so far when you can get yourself elected to office and make a law which legalizes the crime. The law is impervious to the... Full story »