Surprise! Public Employees' Bennies Are Better!

Nothing shocking here.

But there is a serious warning.

The report, called "The Imbalance Between Public and Private Pensions in Wisconsin," comes on the heels of a decision last month by State of Wisconsin Investment Board trustees to borrow the equivalent of 4% of the pension fund's biggest chunk of assets and use it to more than double its position in Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS. The action was widely seen by investment professionals as a bet on inflation that was driven by the retirement system's need to have a 7.8% average annual rate of return over the long-term in order to meet its obligations to retired public workers.

Umnnhhh.....what if that 'bet' doesn't pay out?

The combox following the article has all the usual blather about 'high-minded' people who took Gummint jobs to help the poor, and downtrodden, and yadayadayada, and how they're just scraping by, using candles for lighting and burning old newspapers for warmth because they earn nothing--absolutely nothing-- from their Gummint jobs.

And how they have to take 8 days' unpaid leave (that's THREE percent, folks).

Yup. Saw a gent yesterday who is a journeyman tool-and-die maker. Hasn't had work for 11 months.

So much for anecdotes.