We have written frequently over the past couple of weeks about the disastrous public pension funds in Kentucky that are anywhere from $42 - $84 billion underfunded, depending on which discount rate you feel inclined to use. As we've argued before, these pensions, like the ones in Illinois and other states, are so hopelessly underfunded that they haven't a prayer of ever again being made whole.
As Congress continues to debate whether or not Obamacare is "working," folks in the key swing state of Florida just found out that their insurance premiums for 2018 are going to surge by 45% in a single year. Per the Miami Herald:
Health insurers selling Affordable Care Act plans in Florida will raise monthly premiums by nearly 45 percent on average next year, the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation said Tuesday.
Greeks are working longer for less pay, suffering from depression and committing suicide at a record pace, and seeing a mass exodus of young talented workers amid continued capital controls and pension cuts.
So it should be no surprise that Greek government bonds are being bought with both hands and feet by global investors reaching for yield, sparking GGBs to a return of almost 17% year-to-date - the best across Europe - even as concerns linger about the sustainability of Greece’s economic recovery once the current rescue program ends in 2018.
As stagnant wages and rising tuition and medical costs squeeze middle class families, Bloomberg reports that US employers cut employee bonuses this year for the first time in seven years, further straining household budgets despite an ostensibly bright economic outlook. Bonuses slipped a tenth of a percentage point to 12.7% of total compensation this year, according to data from Aon Hewitt, which conducts an annual survey of more than 1,000 employers.
We've written frequently of late about the pension crisis in Kentucky where pensioners are facing potentially catastrophic benefit cuts as their politicians finally admit that they've been sold a fantasy for decades (see: Pension Consultant Offers Dire Outlook For Kentucky: Freeze Pension And Slash Benefits Or Else).