The whole thing almost went down:
The Dallas Police and Fire Pension System’s Board of Trustees suspended lump-sum withdrawals from the pension fund Thursday, staving off a possible restraining order and stopping $154 million in withdrawal requests. The system was set to pay out the weekly requests Friday. Pension officials said allowing the withdrawals would leave them without the liquid reserves required to sustain the $2.1 billion fund. “Our situation is currently critical, and we took action,” board chairman Sam Friar said. Pension officials and many police and firefighters have blamed Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings for forcing the latest run on the bank. Dozens of retirees rushed to request withdrawals after Rawlings filed a lawsuit Monday to stop the withdrawals. By then, more than $500 million had already gushed from the fund since the board proposed benefit cuts in August.
Law Enforcement/Fire-Rescue will tend to be more K than the average populace. Thus it is no surprise to see that their ranks began to go K early.
Ponzi schemes most effectively exploit the r-psychology. If you are an r-strategist, you assume you will always have money, and you just worry about whether your next check will cash. If you are K, your amygdala sees threats, you worry about whether your entire investment will be gone at some future date, and you act at the slightest sign of risk. This protectionist behavior is the hallmark of a K-shift, and will accelerate it once it is fully underway. You can bet all those cops and firefighters who were just told they can’t get their money are going even more K as we speak.
This will eventually spread to the rest of the populace. When it does, everything from stocks, to banks, to national budgets will all come down at once. All that keeps the system afloat is the easy carefree trust of rubes who think nothing bad awaits.
There are not enough resources right now to continue things as they are. It will all come down. The question is whether Trump can get into office soon enough and work fast enough to trigger a new bubble, to continue the r-selection for a while, and stave off the inevitable.
As of now, the race is on.
Tell your friends about r/K Theory, because the K”s need to realize, it is all coming down
[…] Dallas Police And Fire Pension Fund Freeze Withdrawals […]
I have to disagree with you about Trump. I believe Trump knows there are massive bubbles just as well as you and I do. On the international scene there are a lot of things that could be done to strengthen America financially. While making those that have feasted on us such as China pay back to the USA. It is not only going to be interesting but fun. I am that sorta guy.
Yes, an r’s worry is about return on capital. A K’s worry is about return of capital.