California Gov. Brown proposes major public pension changes

The non-partisan Little Hoover Commission reported in February that the ten biggest pension funds for California public workers face a coming shortfall of $240 billion. These benefits are mandated, must be paid (unless renegotiated), and obviously will decimate the budgets of governments already heavily impacted by budget cuts.

Unions predictably said the report was skewed [...]

California’s pension powder keg

LA Times editorial

The state’s obligations are outstripping its ability to pay. Now is a good time to put reforms back on the table.

CalPERS estimates this year’s losses at close to 30%. Meanwhile, costs for the current fiscal year are expected to reach $3 billion, of which more than half is to come [...]