The top 10 biggest U.S. cities on the brink of pension bankruptcy.
#1 Philadelphia – Unfunded liability of $9 billion, $16,696 per household, only 1 year before the pension accounts are empty
#2 Chicago – Unfunded liability of $44.8 billion, $41.966 per household, money runs out in 4 years
#3 Boston – Unfunded liability of $7.5 billion, $30,901 per household, money runs out in 4 years
#4 Cincinnati – Unfunded liability of $2 billion, $15,681 per household, money runs out in 5 years
#5 St Paul – Unfunded liability of $1.4 billion, $13,686 per household, money runs out in 5 years
#6 Jacksonville – Unfunded liability of $4 billion, $12,944 per household, money runs out in 5 years
#7 New York City – Unfunded liability of $122 billion, $38,866 per household, money runs out in 6 years
#8 Baltimore – Unfunded liability of $3.7 billion, $15, 420 per household, money runs out in 7 years
#9 Detroit – Unfunded liability of $6.4 billion, $18,643 per household, money runs out in 8 years
#10 Fort Worth – Unfunded liability of $2 billion, $7,212 per household, money runs out in 8 years
via Business Insider.
This list was put together using data from 2010-12. So Detroit is on the list… and not at the top. So how was Detroit the first to go? Because the tax base fled in mass. The constant media attention to Detroit didn’t help either. But kudos to them for filing early and getting it out of the way. The longer you wait the worse it is for everybody.
Chicago sadly has the highest debt per capita. The debt per household is approaching the average annual household income. Who’s going to pay that off? How many will participate in paying? As Obama would say, will be make sure that everyone pays their fair share?