Pension Woes Across the U.S.

Even though Georgetown is in relatively good shape with respect to their pension obligations, Council must keep a wary eye as the situation can turn negative rapidly as it is doing in several Texas pension funds and in pension funds across the United States.

The war between public pensioners and tax donkeys is heating up

Public pension obligations are rising so fast that even repeated tax increases can't keep up.

This is setting up a second front in the war between entitled Baby Boomers and younger taxpayers who pay most of the federal and local taxes. Public pensioners are a subset of the entitled Baby Boomers, but their pensions can't be paid with borrowed money like Social Security and Medicare; public pension obligations come out of local and state taxes, and as those obligations soar then public services must be slashed and taxes jacked up by annual double-digit increases.

One of the reasons that Georgetown's pension fund is in relatively good shape is that the council has been funding the city's share at the required level.

This has been possible because the city's tax base has been growing. Texas and Georgetown must keep their budgets and therefore the taxes in check so that they can meet their pension obligations when the growth slows down.

This is what happens when the tax burden become too great!