Comments for Mark Hillman

Comment on The True Meaning of Independence by Marjorie Haun

Marjorie Haun — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:46:34 +0000

I just discovered your website. Your articles are excellent. Thank you for your Conservative voice.

Comment on Workers can’t ignore cost of PERA ‘fix’ by Joe Banks

Joe Banks — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:51:08 +0000

There is no way possible that PERA earns 8% return into infinity and beyond. It just ain’t going to happen. This is a Depression folks, the economy is being propped up with FED funny money. Pull the curtain back and anyone can see how screwed we really are.

Comment on Coffee Treasures by Russ Kyncl

Russ Kyncl — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:58:17 +0000

Ditto the above on Bongo Billy’s. It’s a great stop, just south of Buena Vista on the left. Perhaps Salida is another location.

Comment on Michael Bennet feels your pain by Ken Colaizzi

Ken Colaizzi — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 02:28:18 +0000

I loved your article. I’m friends with four families in Akron. From what all four families are telling me, no one recognizes the good ‘ol’ farmer and his wife at the end of the commercial talking to Sen. Bennett. Was he that dumb to bring actors into a community (Washington County Colorado) where everyone knows everyone? What a MORON!!!

Comment on Michael Bennet feels your pain by Jeremy Weathers

Jeremy Weathers — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:58:17 +0000

I saw the ad last night and about broke my TV. Sen. Bennet has made exactly 1 trip to Washington County before recording that ad, and I can’t imagine more than a handful of Washington County residents would agree that Sen. Bennet’s votes have helped Washington County!

Comment on A Ponzi scheme by any other name … by Marty Renn

Marty Renn — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 06:00:02 +0000

Very well said. Thanks for using the SEC definitions and pointing out that as of this year SS is paying out MORE than it takes in.

I think that’s what’s known in the finance industry as an “operating loss”.

I bet Dems will say “There’s nothing to worry about!”

Comment on More health care ‘help’ we can’t afford by Paul Hsieh, MD

Paul Hsieh, MD — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:29:53 +0000

Thank you for pointing out the problem with these “mandatory benefits”.

This problem will only become worse if the US adopts a Massachusetts-style system of mandatory health insurance. That will create a giant magnet for every special interest group seeking to have their pet benefit included in the mandatory package. MA residents have to purchase all sorts of benefits they neither need nor want, such as in vitro fertilization or chiropractor services.

I shudder to think about the lobbying frenzy that will occur if ObamaCare passes, and we have a nation wide system of mandatory insurance.

http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2008-fall/mandatory-health-insurance.asp

Comment on A wonderfully concise ruling on TABOR by Alan Hale

Alan Hale — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:47:21 +0000

Dear Mark:
Excellent Commentary in today’s Post! Please keep the spotlight on the Supremes and the danger they present to Colorado’s sovereignty.
Hope you are ready to bring your intelligence, youth and conservative common sense back to public service.
How has the moisture been out there this winter?

Comment on Workers can’t ignore cost of PERA ‘fix’ by Mark Hillman

Mark Hillman — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:26:15 +0000

I’ve read about the Pew study, but haven’t read it directly, so I’m relying on WageSlave’s summary of it. That said, Pew is incorrect if it asserts that the state missed any of its scheduled PERA payments. The state has suspended payments to other pension plans, but not to PERA. Pew assumes, however, that when there’s a shortfall in the plan’s amortization schedule — whether due to increased benefits or investment losses — that the state should pay more to make up for that. Some pension plans actually impose these contribution increases on state budgets automatically. Colorado law requires legislation to change contribution levels. Since 2004, the state’s contribution to PERA has been increased from 10.15 percent to 16.15 percent — or to 20.15 if this year’s PERA “fix” is passed.

Comment on Workers can’t ignore cost of PERA ‘fix’ by WageSlave

WageSlave — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:19:33 +0000

While it is easy to blame PERA and employee groups for the current funding problems facing PERA, according to a report by “The PEW Center On The States” titled “The Trillion Dollar Gap: Underfunded State Retirement Systems and the Road to Reform” the state is also a party to the problem. In fact the article has a special section that focuses on Colorado. In that section it states the three reasons for the current PERA funding issues are 1. Increased benefits, 2. Missed contributions, and 3. Investment losses. The missed contributions are contributions from the state. From the article:

“Missed contributions. Up until 2002, the state paid its contributions regularly. But thedot-com bust and investment losses in the early part of this decade led to a jump in required contributions that the state could not meet. Over the past six years, the state paid only between 50 percent and 70 percent of its actuarially required contribution, for a total of $2.4 billion in payments that were skipped.95 These missed payments are added to future payments with the result that the contribution requirement goes up. The required contribution was more than 11 percent of payroll in 2004 and had grown to about 17.9 percent of payroll in 2008. While the plans paid $2.8 billion in actual benefits to retirees in 2008, contributions that came in from employers and employees amounted to only $1.6 billion.96″

So, the PERA problem has been simmering since 2002. Colorado is not alone with this problem. In fact only 4 states have fully funded public pensions.

Ref: http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/report_detail.aspx?id=56695

http://downloads.pewcenteronthestates.org/The_Trillion_Dollar_Gap_final.pd