Sunday, August 02, 2009

Where is the Public Outrage Over Pensions?

Where is the Public Outrage Over Pensions?
"You might be reading my blog wondering where is public outrage over pensions?
For example, how can PSP Investments lose billions and still pay their top officers bonuses, allowing them to get extremely well compensated in a terrible year?

And it's not just PSP. The same is happening in many other large public Canadian pension funds, including CPPIB where top officers got millions with their bonuses after losing a whopping $24 billion in FY 2009.

So where is the outrage?
I just came back from Greece where if even a fraction of this came out in the media, there would be riots in the streets.
The same can be said about other European countries, especially in France.

But 'civilized' Canadians seem to be sleepwalking while their pensions are dwindling.
The unions are keeping silent too.
Why?
Maybe because they know that the federal and provincial governments are on the hook to pay out pension benefits even if the public pension plans are severely underfunded.
Why make a fuss when you know the government will come in and shore up the plan?"

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