Author: Mary Pat Campbell

Mulitemployer Bailout Eligibility

Mary Pat Campbell
Mulitemployer Bailout Eligibility

Excerpt:

It was reported that The Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021, to be included in some covid-relief bill, would create a special financial assistance program under which cash payments would be made by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to financially troubled multiemployer pension plans so they could continue paying retirees’ benefits. The money would be provided to PBGC through a general Treasury transfer. Multiemployer pension plans eligible for the program would include plans in critical and declining status, and plans with significant underfunding that have more retirees than active workers in any plan year beginning in 2020 through 2022. Additionally, plans that have suspended benefits and certain plans that have already become insolvent would also be eligible.

So how many plans would that be? Based on the last full year of data (2018) from the DOL website here is how it breaks down.

Author(s): John Bury

Publication Date: 11 February 2021

Publication Site: Burypensions

Vermont Treasurer Calls for Pension Cuts for State Employees, Teachers

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/vermont-treasurer-calls-pension-cuts-state-employees-teachers/

Excerpt:

Vermont Treasurer Beth Pearce released a report containing recommendations that she said could reduce pension UAAL for the Vermont State Employees’ Retirement System (VSERS) and the Vermont State Teachers’ Retirement System (VSTRS) by $474 million and reduce the actuarial determined employer contribution (ADEC) by $85 million.

“While shy of the total target of $604 million in the UAAL and $96.6 million for the ADEC, it is a significant reduction to the existing liabilities and costs to the taxpayer,” said the report, which added that the net other post-employment liabilities could be reduced by $1.68 billion by directing a “minimal amount” of funds for prefunding. “All in, these recommendations will reduce the state’s post-employment liabilities by $2.2 billion.”

Author(s): Michael Katz

Publication Date: 21 January 2021

Publication Site: ai-CIO

Democrats Introduce Bill to Protect Pensions, Expand PGBC’s Power

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/democrats-introduce-bill-protect-pensions-expand-pgbcs-power/

Excerpt:

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Bill would create a special partition program that would expand PBGC’s authority.

Pension plans would no longer be able to seek a reduction in benefits under MPRA.

PBGC would begin receiving federal funding and double its maximum guaranteed benefit.

Author(s): Michael Katz

Publication Date: 22 January 2021

Publication Site: ai-CIO

Outlook Improves for Multiemployer Reform in 2021, 2022

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/outlook-improves-multiemployer-reform-2021-2022/

Excerpt:

There’s an improved chance Congress will pass legislation over the next year or two to prevent multiemployer pension plans and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)’s multiemployer insurance program from becoming insolvent, according to law firm Morgan Lewis.

In a blog post on the firm’s website, Morgan Lewis Senior Director Timothy Lynch and Partner Daniel Salemi wrote that the biggest factor that could lead to a legislative solution is the fact that the Democratic Party controls the White House and both houses of Congress. They also say the Biden administration may see greater urgency in moving for a solution due to the major economic fallout that would occur if PBGC’s multiemployer program were to become insolvent in 2026, as is currently projected.

Author(s): Michael Katz

Publication Date: 20 January 2021

Publication Site: ai-CIO

To What Extent Does Your State Rely on Property Taxes?

Mary Pat Campbell
To What Extent Does Your State Rely on Property Taxes?

Graphic:

Excerpt:

Property taxes represent a major source of revenue for states and the largest source of tax revenue for localities. In fiscal year 2018, the most recent data available, property taxes were such a significant source of local revenue that they accounted for 71.7 percent of local tax collections nationwide and 31.1 percent of total U.S. state and local tax collections, a greater proportion than any other source of tax revenue. In that same year, 25 states and the District of Columbia collected the greatest share of their combined state and local tax revenue from property taxes, with property taxes the largest share of local revenue in all but two states (Arkansas and Louisiana, both of which have high local sales taxes).

Author(s): Janelle Cammenga

Publication Date: 19 January 2021

Publication Site: Tax Foundation

When Adobe Stopped Flash Content From Running It Also Stopped A Chinese Railroad

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://jalopnik.com/when-adobe-stopped-flash-content-from-running-it-also-s-1846109630

Excerpt:

Adobe’s Flash, the web browser plug-in that powered so very many crappy games, confusing interfaces, and animated icons of the early web like Homestar Runneris now finally gone, after a long, slow, protracted death. For most of us, this just means that some goofy webgame you searched for out of misplaced nostalgia will no longer run. For a select few in China, though, the death of Flash meant being late to work, because the city of Dalian in northern China was running their railroad system on it.Yes, a railroad, run on Flash, the same thing used to run “free online casinos” and knockoff Breakout games in mortgage re-fi ads.

….

The railroad’s technicians did get everything back up and running, but the way they did this is fascinating, too. They didn’t switch the rail management system to some other, more modern codebase or software installation; instead, they installed a pirated version of Flash that was still operational. The knockoff version seems to be known as “Ghost Version.”

Author(s): Jason Torchinsky

Publication Date: 22 January 2021

Publication Site: Jalopnik

Government funds are not ‘taxpayer money’ — media and politicians should stop confusing the two

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://theconversation.com/government-funds-are-not-taxpayer-money-media-and-politicians-should-stop-confusing-the-two-153195

Excerpt:

Taxpayers don’t own their taxes
Richard Murphy, one of the founders of the UK’s Tax Justice Network and author of The Joy of Tax, explains that “taxpayers’ money” is the money left in our pockets after we have paid taxes that are legally due. Money payable through taxes is the government’s property.

This is quite easy to prove — try not paying your income tax and see if the courts will enforce government property rights in that money.

Author(s): Jonathan Barrett

Publication Date: 14 January 2021

Publication Site: The Conversation

DiNapoli: Tax Revenues Through December Were $2.5 Billion Lower Than Last Year

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/2021/01/dinapoli-tax-revenues-through-december-were-25-billion-lower-last-year

Excerpt:

State tax receipts through the first nine months of the state fiscal year were $2.5 billion lower than last year, but were $1.8 billion higher than anticipated by the state Division of the Budget (DOB), according to the monthly State Cash Report released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Tax receipts in the month of December totaled $8.4 billion, $422.5 million above last year, and $1.4 billion above DOB’s latest projections.

Author(s): Thomas P. DiNapoli

Publication Date: 15 January 2021

Publication Site: Office of the New York State Comptroller

Explainer: Why Trump’s post-presidency perks, like a pension and office, are safe for the rest of his life

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-benefits-explai/explainer-why-trumps-post-presidency-perks-like-a-pension-and-office-are-safe-for-the-rest-of-his-life-idUSKBN29W2DD

Excerpt:

CAN PRESIDENTS BE STRIPPED OF THESE BENEFITS?

Yes, but only if they are removed from office during their presidency, said Brian Kalt, a law professor at Michigan State University. Being impeached by the House of Representatives does not impact the benefits.

Many lawmakers and public figures called for Trump’s removal from office during the final days of his presidency, but he avoided this fate, so the benefits are safe.

There is one caveat: the law could always change. Some advocates say the Former Presidents Act is an unnecessary cost, arguing that modern-day presidents have lucrative opportunities and do not need the public’s help after stepping down.

Author(s): Jan Wolfe

Publication Date: 27 January 2021

Publication Site: Reuters

Cuomo aide admits they hid nursing home data so feds wouldn’t find out

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://nypost.com/2021/02/11/cuomo-aide-admits-they-hid-nursing-home-data-from-feds/

Excerpt:

Governor Cuomo’s top aide privately apologized to Democratic lawmakers for withholding the state’s nursing-home death toll from COVID-19 — telling them “we froze” out of fear the true numbers would “be used against us” by federal prosecutors, The Post has learned.

The stunning admission of a cover-up was made by Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa during a video conference call with state Democratic leaders in which she said the Cuomo administration had rebuffed a legislative request for the tally in August because “right around the same time, [then-President Donald Trump] turns this into a giant political football,” according to an audio recording of the two-hour-plus meeting.

Author(s): Bernadette Hogan, Carl Campanile and Bruce Golding

Publication Date: 11 February 2021

Publication Site: NY Post

Study finds smaller cars may be why crashes injure women more

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://nypost.com/2021/02/11/study-smaller-cars-may-be-why-crashes-injure-women-more/

Excerpt:

The smaller, lighter vehicles that women more often drive and the types of crashes they get into, may explain why they are much more likely to suffer a serious injury in a collision than men, a new study published Thursday found.

Researchers from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group supported by auto insurers, looked into whether there was some sort of gender bias in the research into vehicle crashes or whether body type had anything to do with the injuries.

Author(s): Associated Press

Publication Date: 11 February 2021

Publication Site: NY Pose

Junk Has Never Been So Valued

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/junk-has-never-been-so-valued-11612915150

Excerpt:

If you’re an over-leveraged company at risk of default, now’s your moment to load up on more debt. The average yield on U.S. junk bonds dropped below 4% for the first time on Monday amid a market scavenger hunt for higher returns.

The Federal Reserve has pushed down long-term interest rates by buying bonds and committed to keep short-term interest rates at near zero through 2023. While the central bank’s interventions were needed in March, it continued to buy corporate bonds well into the summer when markets didn’t need the support.

Author(s): WSJ Editorial Board

Publication Date: 9 February 2021

Publication Site: Wall Street Journal