Detroit is throwing it's police and firefighters under the financial bus.

[I HAVE A Hero]

I want to put his out there.  These men did not create this problem.  Remember, police and firefighters are not elligible for social security...this is all they have.  They have a pension system that they have paid into and the city and the state are just waiting to grab the money that these men ALREADY have saved.  They want to "borrow" it.  There is no "borrow" when you can't pay what you already owe.  There is only "steal" from those who have earned every penny.  The pension would be even better off if they hadn't been FORCED to invest in bad investments... forced on them by the City of Detroit.  Investments  involving city friends and cronies that went down the drain.  Wow...big surprise.

 

I will believe that the City of Detroit is on the right path only after the mayor and his cronies are put on payless paydays (they aren't doing anything anyway... at least nothing that deserves getting paid for). The same for the City Council...a worse group of screw-ups would be hard to find. They are more worried about the Trevon Martin case than trying to help fix the city that they helped to bring crashing down.

 

Not many know that the Detroit City Council took a 10% pay cut only after they voted themselves a huge raise...in the end they had more pay.. not less...it was all smoke and mirrors. The council and all of their people and the mayor and all of his people need to go on Obama Care ...that's what they propose for the police and firefighters. They need to vote to give up a substantial ammount of their pension...(which I don't feel they have even earned)...that's what they propose for the police and firefighters who have put their lives on the line every day in that city. Those men are being told thanks for your service now here's a kick in the pants to those of you who are retired...you're a drain on us.

 

A firefighter with a wife and two children makes so little in that city, he just about qualifies for aid to the poor. And before you say it, I have heard all the arguments. Yes those men chose their calling. Their wives and children also have to live with that choice. The city is damn lucky anyone is willing to take those (sometimes thankless) jobs. When those men agreed to put their lives on the line they were assured that at least their families would be given a decent living, and that they would have good medical care (with less and less men and no let up in fires this is a very important issue...the injuries are mounting).

 

Those men have paid into their own retirement fund. They are not elligible for social security. They have gone without raises for for many years with the promise of recieving good medical care in return.

 

All of the people who have been in office the last 20 years or so are to blame for this mess. You have seen the trials. There should have been more of them. The whole mess is one giant crime scene. Cronyism at it's very worst. Now we are hearing the present mayor went to Washington to have secret meetings with the governor and the the then "proposed city manager" to cut his own sweetheart deal to keep his and his hangers on in the money. The news reports every day that there will be no cut to city services. So....where is the money going to come from? Easy...take it from those who have sacrificed the most. Take it from the men and women who go to work every day doing their best to protect a city and people who are willing to throw them under the financial bus.

 

I was going to end this by saying I am sorry for sounding so angry...I'm not.

Read more: http://dinarvets.com/forums/index.php?/topic/155738-detroit-fails-because-of-republican-polices/#ixzz2a4oVsSUB

 

[aliciadogz]

Its sad but it starts they eat there own.

[Shabibilicious]

Prophetic?......I think yes.    

 

 

 

GO RV, then BV

[FlintNPebbles]

And the thing with firefighter pensions is that most are not transferrable so they cannot go from Detroit to another location that may pay better or not be stealing their pension. If they leave Detroit then they will need to start over somewhere else at a probation pay and work their way back up. Who knows what would happen to the amount they would leave behind in the pension. Most are eligible to draw a percent of pension payments if they work there a set amount of years. My husbands department starts that at 5 years and it increases by percentage until you reach 20+ years. Then they offer other incentives for retirement up until 30 years. After that you may as well retire because you will not get any better retirement.

Illinois is scary with firefighter pensions because our legislature keeps trying to "reform" them....we fight every 2 years when things change in Springfield to keep them away from the pension. And nope...no social security benefits are available from my husband. And the little bit that I will get is laughable when you think about medical costs and cost of living increases by the time we retire.

[pattyangel]

Detroit needs to sterilize and clean house.  If this doesn't wake up the people of Detroit, along with other states that are heading in this direction, then chaos will set in. 

 

Clean, clean and get rid of the trash.  Prayers to all the police and firefighters that are struggling. 

[I HAVE A Hero]

Police and firefighter pensions are only 4 percent of the debt for the city of Detroit, but they seem to be the only thing the city is going after.  Again, follow the money.  They (the police and fire pension) saved it and the govenor wants to get control of it...surely no good can come of that.

[twolincs]

Democratic rule for the last 40 + years . . .  nuff said

 

Pathetic !!  They Always go after the Police and Firefighters

[jon29]

It's a tragic thing dude, these politicians don't have a conscience. Multiply the corruption and political racketeering by every city and town in the country and you'll have a clearer picture. We've been dealing with political crime against the citizenry for years....it's just that NOW it has gotten to such a degree that entire cities are imploding like a supernova leaving nothing but a black hole. As we see from the article, EVEN THEN, these bureaucrats will continue to devise ways to rob and abuse power. Whenever I see a campaign in America for someone wanting to run for mayor, governor, the senate, whatever...my first question is WHY. Why do they want the office, what is their real goal? More than likely some form of ego, status, selfish gain, NOT for humanitarian purposes and to help the citizens, that's just 'window dressing'. Anyway, let me not leave this on a bad note, lets be positive----> Go RV!