First they raided the state employee and teacher pension fund to the tune of $630 million dollars. Now it seems they will finish the job off by robbing the jurisdictions. State lawmakers call this the new ‘hand in the cookie jar’ technique of acquiring money the ‘reversion program.’ The ‘reversion program is being used to help compensate for the budget shortfall.
To come up with the money, the localities are giving the choice of writing a check or cutting services in programs they receive state funding for. The plan was originally instituted in FY 2009. According to the Washington Examiner:
The “reversion” program — as state lawmakers call it — originally was excluded from the coming year’s budget, but lawmakers decided to incorporate and expand the policy. As a result, counties and cities will have to return $60 million to the state during each of the next two years.
The municipalities are all madder than the devil. Localities will return some $50 million dollars to the state. It doesn’t look like any of the localities will escape. According to the same source:
“We’re allowed to pick our poison,” said Jon Altshul, a budget analyst for Arlington County. Arlington expects the state to ask for about $1.5 million in cash or spending reductions.
In Loudoun County, officials anticipate sending $1 million back to the state, and Prince William County estimates the county’s giveback at about $1.8 million. In Fairfax, Virginia’s largest county, the figure is closer to $5 million.
“The state calls it a flexible cut,” said Susan Datta, Fairfax’s budget director. “We had anticipated state revenue reductions, but we’re still sorting everything out.”
Local officials expect to have firm numbers from the state in the next few weeks, and must make payments by August.
So the next time some slick Willile comes along with a promise of no new taxes, you might want to rethink the message. I would rather pay a little more in taxes to have decent services and a state government that doesn’t steal from the pension fund and the county. Can Prince William afford a $1.8 million dollar hit? I would say not. How odd that this money would be required after the tax rate has been set. So which old people do we kick to the curb this year? Perhaps we could just pull the money out of the police or fire and rescue budget.
What is going on? Why is the state pulling from the localities? Perhaps the AG ought to be suing the state instead of the United States. He should at least be charging it with theft.
Sickening and disgusting.
Robbing Peter to pay Paul is now a nation wide occurrence. After tripling or quadrupling the national debt the ‘Peter’ we now speak of is you, me, and future generations of wage earners!
Tax, spend and expand Democrats, who continue to purchase votes with public funds will never be outdone by the borrow, spend and reduce services Republicans. Neither approach is acceptable; the only difference is in the reduction versus expansion of entitlements onto this and future generations. The blame locally can be squarely placed on those who screech against the greed of local small business and who have opposed public-private partnerships that would reduce government obligations, share the risk of investment strategies and present opportunities for new sources of revenues. Liberal opposition to the concept of profit and the chance that both the public and private sector can both benefit from joint investment can only slow our recovery in terms of jobs and balanced bugets.
Thank you for pointing out this growing abuse of power in Richmond.
It is a fiscal shell game that gives our puffed up state “representatives” a
way to claim accolades for new programs and lower taxes while
dumping the real cost on local government. A classic case of political perfidy.
The best thing would be for the state to actually prioritize and do it ruthlessly. If we don’t have the money, then we don’t have the money. List everything in the budget and cut what is needed. Can certain programs be cut? Certainly. We elect these people to make these decisions. Increasing taxes also has its down side. Increased taxes raises the costs of everything and can actually hurt the economy dependent upon what and how the taxes are raised. Why do we need to increase taxes? Are you saying that every program in the budget HAS to be there?
Asking what programs that I would cut is useless as I cannot find a detailed list of what programs are funded. Otherwise, I would love to triage the budget just to see what we could do.
The problem with the budget deficits is not the Democrats and Republicans. Its us. We keep demanding more services instead of seeking private solutions.
Lets put this into context. 2011 funding from the 2010 budget : $ 37,329,237,761
I think that the news stated that we have a $2 billion deficit. Can we not find that amount of savings in that budget? Don’t you cut back on spending when times get tough? Lowering taxes and shrinking government = rising economy. Lets do what we can to make Virgina have the most vibrant economy in the US. Lets examine other states that do not have deficits. What are they doing right. Texas is thriving. Lets do what they do.
The state doesn’t need to cut spending. They can steal money to pay for it.
Actually, many people like some of the quality of life type things like museums, parks, schools, etc. Somewhere there has to be a happy medium. My own personal favorite would be the interstate rest areas. They cannot be privotized. Kaine tried to do it.
Stealing it?? I know your kidding but talk about rough rhetoric. One might otherwise explain that borrowing through a secured loan from a publiclly funded pension fund is – or should be – dramatically less expensive as a short term solution to a larger default than seeking unsecured borrowing from China — like someone else is want to do (oh he can’t go after the pension or Social Security money – because its already gone!!!!).
Some inherently governmental functions need to be fully funded by taxpayer revenues – like fire and police services, but there are a number of other “institutions” that need to be or could be funded through a mix of partnership arrangements, to include, IMHO, the schools, schools lunches, bus fleet management and maintenance, Museums, certain parks, water treatment and the jails . There are all kinds of examples around the country where these options to public and public ownership are working. My sense is that its not the economics of these alternatives, its the politics and, specifically union politics and untill things get financailly drastic the politics will not allow their consideration – regardless of how good it is for taxpayers.
How come our BOCS hasn’t been howling about this example of the state ‘helping itself?’ Has our local paper publicized it? How much does the City of Manassas get strong-armed for? What is the justification?
I am not even sure how the state is stealing the pension money. Is it allocated for something special? The only newspaper to mention the state pension raid is the Richmond Times Dispatch. Where is the Post? Where is the News & Messenger? Where are our lawmakers?
The local lawmakers are probably chasing around after Planned Parenthood, that big bug-a-boo, instead of trying to keep the state off of its employees’ old age money. I guess finding out that the money Planned Parenthood was getting from the state was really money owned to the organization for medical services like check ups for medicaid women was just too much. Meanwhile, we rob Peter to pay Paul. Its time for our local legislators to stop the obsession with everything guns and sex and to start being concerned over stealing from the citizens of Virginia.
Plenty of people put their own money into the state pension fund, at least until the state and the local jurisdictions funded VRS instead of giving raises. Raiding any pension fund is stealing. All the state has to do if they can’t afford to pay back the money is to write its own law altering the payback. The fox is guarding the hen house in this case.
Pension funds are not private banks. When they start being used as such, then they are no longer offering the security that one should expect from such funds. Furthermore, the state should be balancing its budget, not borrowing. Where does the interest come from along with the loan repayment?
Well I didn’t vote for these guys. The state was doing just fine until these Republicans got elected.
The more I have thought about dipping into the state pension fund, the more convinced I am that stealing is the right word. Where have we seen this act publicized? It was done on the sneak. The feds, the largest employer, would be howling like banshees if their pension fund were dipped in to. (and rightfully so) Since the Congress is part of that fund, you had best believe there would be major howling.
Part of the reason Social security is desperate straits is because it has continually been raided. Every time someone needs money…there’s social security.
Actually I don’t see the difference in a matched 401k and paying for a pension. The state should operate like a company and compensate its employees. Acting like its employees should receive less than anyone else is offensive.
The military is also paid with tax payer funds. We don’t go strutting around telling them they work for us. We don’t begrudge them a pension and continually remind them that their money comes from the public coffers. Don’t do it to state, and local public employees either.
We all like the amenities we now have, but it seems the majority doesn’t want to pay for them. How can you expect to have what you want without paying for it? / “Taxes are what you pay to live in civilized society”. Taxes pay for things that are needed for the good of the state. I’m talking about road maintenance, courts, universities, etc.
Sometimes things get tough and, like a family, you must cut back on amenities, and it seems that, right now, that’s what our state must do. Unless, of course, we raise taxes, and who in his right or left mind would ever suggest such a thing?
I’m with you Punchak. I want my civilized society. During the great immigration local debate I kept hearing things like ‘we don’t want to live in a third world country.’ I agree. I don’t want to live like a third world country. It will take a certain amount of money to make sure that doesn’t happen. So what will it take, where can we cut corners and where must we pony up.
Back to your premise: ‘Taxes are what we pay to live in a civilized society.”
Starry, in fairness, much of the state’s problems came from the economic downturn. Foreclosures crippled the state as did other components of the economic crash. I don’t think you can blame the republicans for the state mess any more than you can blame Obama for the national mess.
Well, instead of BORROWING, with INTEREST, from the pension funds, lets cut. I’m all for it. I’m sure there are some things in there we can do without. Moon, LOOK! Its a squirrel. Starry doesn’t care about the facts…..
However, I can blame Obama for the current mess. Quadrupling the deficit, doubling the debt in 10 years, buying up private companies, insulting our some of our closest allies, signing into law unconstitutional mandates while admitting that he doesn’t care how a law is passed, etc….
If Bob Marshall did that to Virginia, I’d blame him too.
I am speaking of what Obama inherited…the state of the national economy when he came in to office. I also am not blaming George Bush for that.
We’ll see if the money gets put back, with interest. Where will the $45,000,000 in interest come from? It would be easy to not put back. Just make a little law that makes undoes the agreement.
Doesn’t it concern you, Cargo, that the only newspaper even mentioning this small ‘loan’ is the Times Dispatch? How about the addition $50 million that the state is extracting from the localities? That isn’t a loan.
Virginia is supposed to have a balanced budget. Dipping into the pension fund is not theirs to dip into. It also isn’t, in good faith, having a balanced budget.
Bet if Obama signed off on an equal dip into the govt. pension fund to make things operate, there would be a hue and cry. 🙄
From the VRS website:
bold and italics are mine.
Note above bold and italics. I am not a lawyer but those words indicate to me that perhaps there is a slight of hand being played here on the part of the State.
Hoffa let the Mafia borrow from the teamsters fund. What’s the difference? They couldn’t have gotten loans that size except from the teamster’s. The state can’t legally borrow to balance its budget. They are treating the state pension as their own funds when it clearly says they are not.
Look, we either pay now with no interest or pay later WITH interest. I’m no financial wiz, but I vote for pay now and not later as it SAVES us money NOT to have to borrow from a fund that isn’t meant for this purpose. The retirement fund is NOT the states savings account.
It’s a disease especially common to politicians of any stripe. Ideology doesn’t seem to matter. There is this big “lock box” called Social Security. Open it up and you will find just I.O.U.’s from Uncle Sam – equal opportunity I.O.U.’s from a party standpoint. That’s pension money gone poof also — money that we put in there and the politicians “borrowed” to spend on other things. Funny. The Social Security people actually went to Uncle Sam just recently and said that the SS is flat busted and needed some real cash to meet its current obligations. Uncle Sam said that it looks like we are going to have to dip into the nation’s general operating fund to pay what should be coming out of that supposedly sancrosanct “lock box.” But hold on until I see what we can hock at the Chinese or Japanese pawnshop. We’ll get back to you.
Boy, I’m glad I’m not working as an accountant for that crowd!
It really is. I don’t want to hear any of them talk about what good guys they are.
Touching pensions is …like touching the holy grail or something. It just shouldn’t be happening. It looks like it isn’t legal either.
They know better and they are acting like nothing is wrong with it.
Moon, please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t agree with the “loan” either. Probably the Richmond Times-Dispatch was the only one reporting it because it is a dry “inside baseball” type of story and our paper needs to stay on top of political stuff since this is the capitol.
IF we don’t have the money, suck it up and prioritize. We all have to do it.
Oh, about the extra money. Sounds like a better deal than just cutting. They are effectively saying, “we can either cut the funds totally, or we can work something out.”
How many people would be jumping all over the feds for putting their hand in the federal funds or in social security? That’s some of what’s wrong the ss funds today. Too much hand in the till.
I am not sure what the additionl $50 million is for. No article explains that. I don’t think it specifies which fund, just any fund where money from the state kicks in.
I would just rather face the problem directly. If you need Y dollars and you only have X then you need to raise the taxes. I am tired of this being used as a political ploy. It is just freaking dishonest.
Hand in the pension fund? where does the pay back and the interest come from? Money isn’t going to fall out of the sky. Make the localities pay? Someone has to pay there also.
Just do it upfront and honestly. Assess us all and cut the lies. Cut out the middle man, it will be cheaper.
I suspect that there is more to this than reported so far, and using hot-button language only fires resentment and suspicion without getting anywhere near the truth. It’s not just a ‘political’ move (and therefor presumed automatically to be dirty somehow) – it appears to be demanded by the constituency; people want the government to pay for stuff, and they want to keep all their personal money at the same time. Any time, it seems, that any cut is proposed, it is howled down. But how does one pay without enough money?
Heavens, everyone’s personal budget demands that choices be made and bills be paid. If we want services, we have to pay for them. The idea of expecting the same or increased services while refusing to pay for them is illogical.
As for me, I would happily pay more taxes if necessary to maintain the state and the country well.
Perhaps hot-button language will make Virginians sit up and take notice that the pension fund has been tapped as a resource for additional funds. I hope the language I chose does alert people. When only 1 newspaper in the state covers the topic, we need some revolutionary language.
If the constituency wants goods and services that aren’t affordable, then they need to put their hands in their pockets and pay more taxes. Don’t borrow or steal from the pension fund of state employees and teachers. It is irresponsible and questionably illegal.
It isn’t theirs. Taking money from this fund violates the trust of all the members who are counting on their retirement to be there.
Here we go back to more taxes and more spend. The “howling” over “proposed” cuts is an old ploy to justify more taxes – to increase the government and get everything entitled. There are other options. If liberals would stop seeing the private sector as the enemy, a lot more cost effective solutions could be developed.
PWC Taxpayer says, ” there are a number of other “institutions” that need to be or could be funded through a mix of partnership arrangements, to include, IMHO, the schools, schools lunches, bus fleet management and maintenance, Museums, certain parks, water treatment and the jails.”
I don’t know PWC Taxpayer, but I bet this person went to publically funded schools, ate publically funded school lunches (Oh yes, the lunch was paid for by your parents, but what they paid didn’t near cover the cost of preparing the lunch), and you probably rode to school on a publically funded bus. Unless, of course, you walked a mile to school, uphill both ways. Oh, yes, did you turn on the tap this morning to get a drink of water? Unless you have a well like me, you are drinking water subsidized with public funds–flowing through pipes that are also subsidized. And the same can be said for the water that runs through you–where does it go? Mine goes into my own septic field. Maybe you don’t go to museums or parks, but there are thousands who do and really appreciate them. How poor our life would be without them.
Moonhowler is right–it is “steal and spend” even if the stolen funds are covered by a secured loan–secured by what? Oh, yes, the full faith and credit of the Commonwealth and the bunch of thieves we have elected to guarantee that. I don’t like paying taxes any more than the next person, but for our elected officials to claim they have balanced the budget without raising taxes raises my hackles. Not only do they steal, they lie.
And if you have calculated it, the first year’s interest on the $620 million = $46.5 million. Where is that coming from? Of course, out of our pockets. Is this a shell and pea game or what? Or put another way–if we had some eggs, we would have some ham and eggs, if we had some ham.
In case you are curious–I don’t draw one centime from the state retirement fund; however, I do draw a retirement from the federal government for my 39 years of active military service.
Welcome George. Glad to see you back. I agree with your post.
Taxpayer, no one is howling over the cuts. The howling is over charging local jurisdictions more money, in particular, PWC got charged an additional $1.8 million by the state. There is also howling over the pension fund hand in the cookie jar.
Your ‘here you go again ‘ and liberal bashing shows me that you didn’t read the thread post and clearly missed the point. I would rather pay $50 today in taxes than $100 down the road to repay the pension fund. Interest will be tacked on–abouut $45 million the first year. Who do you think is going to foot that bill? Hint: It isn’t the Floridians!
As George pointed out, it’s all a lie. Yea, that kind of debt really is raising my taxes. Just do it up front. It hurts less.
Or don’t raise taxes. Prioritize. Cut. Privatize. All of the above. If I have to cut back, why should I have to pay more money, of which I have LESS TO BEGIN WITH, to pay for increases in government. Government spending in Virginia has outpaced population increase and inflation. What are we spending it on? Who is getting subsidies while we have to pay more? Does VCU really need those tax breaks and subsidies while the buy up downtown Richmond? What else is in there? Raise my taxes, lose my vote. Especially in a recession.
We should be cutting taxes, and making Virginia into a mecca of business. More people and businesses mean growth. Growth means tax revenue.
Calling the borrowing stealing is partisan political inflamatory speech. It is not stealing, with or withut an interest rate from a public fund – and this one provides a healthy market lending rate. And remember the money in the fund is actuarial corpus, it will not impact any retiree benefit or payments.
In contrast, I hear continued suggestions that taxes should be increased – during our current jobless economic crisis. In what world does that make sense? More importantly, the call for more taxes to balance the budget cuts off the discussion of needed cuts, privatization and, yes, joint venture options that could provide more for less or new sources of reveues.
George , I don’t get your point. What has the subsidy rate to the consumers of public goods got to do with the economic provision of public services?
Two points Taxpayer–
One– you surely took advantage of government funded programs–schools, etc and now you want to privatize or do some government-private partnership.
Two–you may want to fool yourself that the money in the VRS is the”atcuarial corpus”, but would you like to make a bet that that corpus won’t be eaten up just like Social Security and Social Secuirty Disability Insurance funds?
You are trusting the same folks who dipped into the fund to do what they are unable/unwilling to do–that is balance the budget. So now you expect them to repay what they borrowed? Why doyou believe things will be any better than they are now? What they will do is shift more and more of the burden on to individuals and local jurisdictions through tricky little tools like reversion.
My two cents worth–tax free.
@PWC Taxpayer
Bullcrap. the money is investment money for the retirees. VRS is not a freaking bank. It has one of the highest ratings in the United States for a pension fund. When legislators start treating it like a bank, it will cease to be a safe place for retirement money to be grown.
Conservatives should be the very people who oppose borrowing money from others to balance their books. Conservatives should not be sending a bill to jurisdictions after their tax rates are set.
As for taxes being raised, raise them before you put your hand in the cookie jar.
Do I need to post state law again? It really isn’t there for the lawmakers to use as their book balancer.
If the state needs more money to balance their books they should raise taxes rather than STEAL. When it is all paid back, I will change my words from steal to borrow.
There was no state referendum, The legislature decided. It wasn’t even discussed. It wasn’t theirs to dabble in.
George brings up a good point. Why on earth would we trust anyone to put back the money when these very people are telling us they won’t raise our taxes. cough–sputter–choke.
You don’t balance your books on borrowed money. You don’t help yourself to money. You don’t hold your fiefdom together with the money you gather from your serfs at knife-point (the localities)
The money in VRS is used to buy securities and other income producing investments – (there are rules to this game) it is not just sitting in a bank getting pass-book savings – Geez — at least it had better not be, cause if it is that is financial malfeasence at the taxpayer expense. Here the VRS is lending money to the taxpayer for a given rate of return – no difference except it should be a safer investment opportunity right now given the economic impacts of Obamacare. It might actually be the best possible invetment.
So, now we need to address the question of who do you trust more with managing the General Fund, making the cuts necessary, controlling spending and with our ability to get back into balance – the Republicans or the Democrats? I think at least in VA Republicans better serve the interests of the state – I might find common ground at the Federal level that they are all whores, but even here I set out the one time differences of the war, Katrina and the 1st Stimulus from what is being done under this Administration..
And I will use HCR (Hillory Clinton’s Reform???? ) rather than Obamacare when, for example, the health care promises are met, the cost of health care goes down, Medicare is made solvent, children are actually covered, no pre-existing conditions applies to other than those who have always had health care, the government gets back out of the student loan business and the number of doctors practicing medicine actually increases (vice voting with their feet).
Health care has nothing to do with VRS. Not one thing.
Of course the money is invested and it does quite well actually. I believe it was invested well. During the crash they lost 21%. Most people lost much more.
Having said that, this is not a partisan issue. Last I looked, there were both democrats and republicans in the GA. The point is, they say the budget is balanced. The VA Constitution requires it. Do you, Mr. Conservative, thinnk that is how we should balance our budget? Do we borrow (or steal) to balance our budget? Are our taxes to go up to pay the interest? To whom does the VRS fund belong? By whose authority was this done? Why do we have the state pension? It stated off as an old age fund for Virginia teachers and has undergone some major changes. None of those changes involved putting a sign over it that says BANK.
Moon,
Agreed.
So what are we saying here — that we should increase VA taxes now to pay for all the services currently provided, remove VRS’s ability to lend or purchase securities in the retirees interest and forego the harder political choices of prioritization and possible service cuts? I don’t think so. We would still need the bridge funding for the current fiscal year and would have to borrow – what on the open market and from China? Over time and with proper manangement (control of services, taxation and investment) revenues will increase as the economy recovers. This is how to balance the budget and meet needs in tough times. No, the call for raising taxes is never temporary and is nothing more than a ruse to keep current and likely to be cut – benefits. However, I have no objection to a voluntary payment to the State to eliminate the need for the borrowing from VRS, if it worked, as I am not a disinterested party to this discussion.
What on earth does VRS’s responsibility to invest money have to do with the legislature coming along and thinking that the fund is a bank?
These quantum leaps logic simply astound me. There is no place anywhere on VRS that says BANK. Historically it was not created to be a lending well for when the state got its ass in a sling. Choice: Cut services or raise taxes Not a choice: stealing from the pension fund
No solid corportation balances its budget on borrowed money.
You are free to send in voluntary payments all you want. I seriously doubt you have a spare $620 million sitting around in the old checking account.
I also don’t care if Virginia raises taxes on a temporary basis to keep a decent standard of living like interstate rest stops, public health departments, vital statistics being able to be accessed during a person’s lifetime, judges, magistrates, state police. Those silly little frivolous niceties that Virginians have learned to love.
Spending Spending Spending! And to think those selfish bastards expect to be paid for working! And they have the gall to expect their pensions to be there when they retire.
Virginia has been a lean, mean budget machine since Mark Warner was able to create a bipartisan budget that really trimmed away most access. Spending hasn’t increased as much as the foreclosures and downturn in the real estate market plus the lost of jobs created a revenue vacuum in the budget. We are far better off than most states. We were named the number one state in which to do business. Let’s see if we can keep that title.
Stop with the Bank crap. VRS invests and this is good investment – as long as the other actions to cut costs and control growth are also taken by the State. And I see you are locked on a requirement to “BALANCE THE BUDGET.” I do not have time for that discussion, but will offer that borrowing is and has long been a part of any public entity’s financial manangement plan. This is not a cash analysis.
Tell me what you are willing to cut – in order to bridge the deficit. As to more taxe — Here’s your sign!
Virginia Delegate Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights, set up the “Tax Me More Fund” in 2002, for those complaining about spending “cuts” in Richmond. Last year – to supplement a $74 billion 2008-10 biennial state budget – they did just that. Total collected: $1,500, according to the Virginia Department of Taxation. In fact, since 2002, the fund has collected a grand total of just $12,887.04, which doesn’t even pay the salary of one part-time state employee.
I guess that means Virginians think they’re already taxed enough or that those who want more services want us to pay for those wanted non-inherently governmental services not them. User fees might work.
VRS is not a bank. This is not a good investment because the Fox is guarding the hen house. If Virginia doesn’t have to money to start repaying in 2012, what is going to happen? All they have to do is write a little law saying they don’t have to pay it back. States don’t come break their own knee caps.
The Code of Virginia requires the state to have a balanced budget. It has nothing to do with me. So why didn’t Virginia do a bond? Could it be that would require a little more than just helping itself.
I would put the governor on half salary and also the AG. Get them work flex time. Then I would cut the delegates and senators by 10%. They are sure willing to do it to everyone else.