More bad pension news for California cities.

American Spectator

California’s pension funds continue to face a fusillade of bad news, including new reports showing that retirement benefits consume 20 percent of Los Angeles’ general-fund budget. Put another way, one out of every five dollars the city spends goes to a retired city worker, a percentage that has quadrupled in the past 14 years. That’s an astounding number that is crowding out other public services. Things are even more troubling in San Jose, where pensions and retiree health care now consume nearly 28 percent of the budget........This is what happens when the lunatics run the asylum, or at least when those who benefit from certain policies (government workers) elect their own bosses...........Unless something dramatic happens, cities like Los Angeles will continue to fall into deep disrepair, pension debts will soar, and taxes will rise. The only solution — a devoted effort to confront public-employee unions — is an impossibility given union power in the Capitol. There’s little question the bad news will continue........To Read More...