Madoff and a Small Town

So this is Christmas reads like a novel. I did not link directly to it because I want you to see her beautiful solstice card and poem which is the first post. But then scroll down till you come to, "So this is Christmas". Go there to read the introduction which talks about the town where she lives and the things they do. It is a vivid description which will linger in your mind.

....my three sisters are within 9 miles of my house. It's a small community of less than 2000 residents with a large elderly population. Our kids graduate from college and only return home to visit.

So, it was with mind boggling soberness to learn that Bernard Madoff has affected our lives.

On Christmas Eve, my retired construction worker husband had a visit from his former boss, who presently sits on the Board of Trustees for the Pension Fund of his Union. He was told that 85% of the Pension Fund and 20% of his annuity had been invested with Madoff. The money is gone, the fund has fallen into Critical Status, a meeting is being planned for sometime in the future to discuss what has happened, how it impacts members and what efforts will be undertaken to address all of the above.

The Board has requested that State Police be present at the meeting, as it is expected that the Union workers will not take kindly to the fact that such a high percentage of their hard earned money was invested in something so speculative as a hedge fund.

Benefits will be cut, workers who have not yet retired will have to work much longer to accrue retirement credits, monies deducted from paychecks for the Fund will have to be increased sharply, disability, supplemental death benefits and early retirement subsidies will be reduced or eliminated in an effort to restore the Pension Plan.

You want to read more about how these people are doing. Go to Double Jointed Fingers.