A Mushroom Cloud forming......CA needs your $$$$$$$$!!!!!!
December 16, 2008
– Comments (7)
Remember some Fool blogging about this exact issue a little while ago......especially when the top executives resigned en mass in May?????
From the WSJ:
Calpers has lost almost a quarter of its assets since July 1, the start of the current fiscal year.
Calpers in recent weeks said it expects to report paper losses of 103% on its residential investments in the fiscal year ended June 30. That's because Calpers invested not only its own money, but billions of dollars of borrowed money that must be repaid even if the investment fails. In some deals, as much as 80% of the money invested by Calpers was borrowed.With $239 billion in assets as of June, Calpers's portfolio was bigger than the government-run funds of Russia, South Korea, Dubai and Chile combined. In recent years, Calpers became much more aggressive than other pension funds in making nontraditional investments -- real estate, foreign stocks, even forestland.
Unless Calpers's returns bounce back by June, the fund says it expects that the rates it charges governments to participate in the pension could rise starting in 2010, leaving them with less money to spend on other services.
Alicia Munnell of the Center for Retirement Research, Boston College, says the economic slump will likely force other pensions besides Calpers to pass on the financial pain. "Even under the best-case scenario...taxpayers are still going to have to put more money into pension funds."
Calpers stresses that it's a long-term investor and can earn back the declines in the future, just as it erased declines suffered in the dot-com bust a few years ago. "No one in the marketplace knew how swiftly the housing market would fall -- not the Federal Reserve, not the Treasury," said Ted Eliopoulos, head of Calpers's real-estate portfolio, in an interview.
NOW.... THAT IS NOT EXACTLY TRUE IS IT??? A NUMBER OF CAPS PLAYERS KNEW!!!!
The only way these jokers are going to "earn" back the money is take it from you one way or the other. Remember, CA now has a budget deficit approaching $40 Billion. Calpers has lost about $60 Billion since June 1st. No wonder the governor augmented his description of the current budget crisis from an avalanche to armegeddon.
With a population of about 33 million.....just with what is known......the state would need a check for about $3000 from every man woman and child just to make up what is known. Think about that the next time the government wants to send you a check for $600. With likely less than 10% of the population in a position to make any payment at all......now we are looking at over $30K per person.
Folks this is just one state with state only issues. The problem with the press and politicians is few put pencil to paper until its too late. In Alstry's world, this is just fantasy...... the salient question is it too late in reality.....right NOW?
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