NY Gov. David Paterson: Public Pension Funds Are About to Implode...And On That Note, I Am Outta Here!

Today is New York Governor David Paterson's last day in office, and coincidentally he just had a most disturbing epiphany: America's public pension funds are at risk of insolvency.

Zoiks!

It's just so convenient too bad that Paterson won't be around to help clean up the mess. If only he had realized the urgency of the situation earlier in his term, he would have had time to do something about it.

Why are you laughing?

There is a new crisis on the horizon that threatens the solvency of local governments and the recovery of the U.S. economy: teetering public pension funds on the verge of insolvency, with the retirement security of millions of working Americans hanging in the balance.

In 2011, the health of these public funds will take center stage with the very real possibility of significant write-downs in pension asset pools at a time when most funds can ill-afford it. And while these problems were not created in a single year, immediate action will be required to avoid driving our economy deeper into the ditch of recession.

Paterson bequeaths a state pension fund that is $71 billion underfunded to incoming Governor Andrew Cuomo. Nobody knows what 'immediate action' Cuomo has in mind to rescue New York's pension system, but hopefully he's got something up his sleeve besides the 'ol tried and failed 'rob Peter to pay Peter' gimmick.

Don't hold your breath though.



Cross-posted.

Fresh Insanity From The Goracle

Not one to let endless ridicule deter him in his quest to become the biggest planetary laughingstock, today Al Gore has found yet something else endangered by global warming: pension funds.

No word on how cockroaches with pension funds are affected, but give him time.

UPDATE: Taranto delivers this gem.

Q: There's a lot of debate right now over the best way to communicate about global warming and get people motivated. Do you scare people or give them hope? What's the right mix?

Gore: I think the answer to that depends on where your audience's head is. In the United States of America, unfortunately we still live in a bubble of unreality. And the Category 5 denial is an enormous obstacle to any discussion of solutions. Nobody is interested in solutions if they don't think there's a problem. Given that starting point, I believe it is appropriate to have an over-representation of factual presentations on how dangerous it is, as a predicate for opening up the audience to listen to what the solutions are, and how hopeful it is that we are going to solve this crisis.

Read the rest of both pieces.