Dialogues with Meg Hansen: Bankrupting Vermont through unfunded public pension debt

For years, David Coates, retired managing partner at KPMG, has been sounding the alarm about Vermont’s unfunded liabilities regarding public pensions and health care benefits for retirees and their spouses. He joins us to explain this crisis and why no one in power wants to deal with the elephant in the room.

Meg Hansen is the creator and host of “Dialogues with Meg Hansen” on the YCN network. This episode originally aired in July 2019.

6 thoughts on “Dialogues with Meg Hansen: Bankrupting Vermont through unfunded public pension debt

  1. The politicians will kick the can down the road as long as they can so they don’t get blamed for it and it is beyond saving for those who inherited the mess.

    • Those of us who care have worried about this for far over a decade. But the Legislators just “NEED” all the money for some other project year after year. They raise taxes for fun things, but leave the dirty jobs for “later – someday?”

      I’m not sure, but a pension sounds like a fixed amount based on last earnings – known factor.

      Health care is a demand item, and the cost goes up more than inflation. I doubt that inflation has been factored in – because it is an unknown. We now know our health promises are horridly underfunded now. BUT, Costs could grow like a cancer, by inflation, and by expensive new treatments and surgeries which will come in the future – and those costs be expected by the retirees to be covered

  2. The state is just trying to perfect what the Burnmeister did with Burlington city employees pension funds/investment,when he was the mayor.

  3. Let’s get this straight, for years, David Coates has been sounding the ” Alarm ” about the
    unfunded liabilities and our ” Astute Legislators ” just turn a blind eye ??

    We as Vermonters need to hold our legislator’s feet to the fire, as they are either inept when
    it comes to financial matters or they just don’t care……. I’d bet on the second !!

    Maybe we can have Mr.Coates teach our elected officials a little on investment & return as
    apparently, they missed that class.

    • They care about one thing only it seems. To grow government along with all its legacy costs and burdens put on the tax payers because their goal is apparently to whittle away the middle class (our taxes in Westfield went up $1,000), transfer our bodies and souls into wasting, mindless flesh, and pay for the process with the capital of whomever is left… sorry, meant standing.

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