What would we ever do without California? I can't think of another state more inept at balancing its budget. Hell, they make the feds look like penny pinchers.
Today's cautionary tale, brought to you by the anything-but-Golden State, stems from a government pension system teetering on the brink of collapse. In fact, a new study by the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility reveals the state's top five public pension systems fall somewhere between "61 percent and 74 percent funded for benefits earned for past service."
The culprit? Well, the study points to what it calls overly generous retirement packages for state workers, whose retirement payouts are apparently more generous than their private sector counterparts.
Recommended For You
Cuts as dramatic as 40 percent are necessary to balance the books, but you can bet the unions will fight back hard on that front. But the difference this time is that they could find themselves all alonein this historically blue state.
A recent Field Poll revealed a nearly 75 percent of Californians support a state worker retirement cap.
Who knew California – ever the trendsetter – would be following in the footsteps of a humble Midwestern state such as Wisconsin.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
