Mammoth Lakes, Calif., also filed last year but the mountain resort town won dismissal of its bankruptcy case in just four months after settling the $43 million development lawsuit that forced the city to seek protection from its creditors in the first place.

Then there's San Bernardino, which filed for bankruptcy in July. San Bernardino—a relatively poor city about 60 miles east of Los Angeles—isn't being so good.

Reports out of California on Monday allege the city is entering talks with creditors and—while CalPERS says San Bernardino is $17 million in arrears, San Bernardino says, "nun-uh." It's willing to cough up only $13 million. The city reportedly will dispute the amount.

Mediation reportedly begins today as the city takes on American's largest public pension fund and what plays out could become a test case. At issue: whether U.S. cities can simply turn off the spigot to retiring and retired employees because, well, they just can't deliver on what they promised.

It's no secret our nation's recovery from the great recession has made some wealthier. While other are just getting older.

I think San Bernardino municipal leaders must make good on promises made and that CalPERS has to fight this assertion with all it has.

Moody's is saying some cities are using bankruptcy as a dodge as "an emerging dynamic" to avoid budget deficits and bondholder obligations.

At stake is no less than the future secure retirements of close to 3 million Californians. And—if what people say about the state is true, "As California goes, so goes the nation"—it could affect many, many more.