Reformers are getting their hopes up again following a favorable state appeals court decision last week in a Marin County pension-spiking case.
It’s a great ruling. Several reform-minded commentators have referred to it as a “game changer.”
Here’s the sober reality: Public employees control the Capitol, run the major pension funds, are the main forces electing the governor and most statewide officials, and are treated deferentially in the legal system.
Every effort to roll back future pension benefits, or at least put them on a sustainable course, has been beaten back.
Even voter-approved initiatives ultimately are gutted by government agencies or the courts.
Unfunded pension liabilities — the future debt to pay all the current promises made to government employees — are the perfect “kick the can down the road” scam.
The dreadful debt numbers are obvious. But they don’t cause enough current problems to warrant taking on powerful union lobbies.
It’s easier for legislators to let future officials deal with the mess.
Source: The American Spectator
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