Just as California's budget negotiations reached a stalemate, Gov. Jerry Brown released a proposal to reform the state's public sector pension system, said by some independent experts to be as much as half a trillion dollars underfunded.
But Brown's proposals were greeted with a mostly lukewarm response because the governor chose to go after the low-hanging fruit. Among the reforms are banning pension checks for convicted felons, eliminating salary spiking at the end of a worker's career to boost a pension, and ending the ability of employees to credits to boost their pensions.
But Brown's proposals were greeted with a mostly lukewarm response because the governor chose to go after the low-hanging fruit. Among the reforms are banning pension checks for convicted felons, eliminating salary spiking at the end of a worker's career to boost a pension, and ending the ability of employees to credits to boost their pensions.
The San Francisco Examiner charitably called the Brown plan "baby steps" and an "incomplete" but "worthwhile' start. Sacramento Bee political columnist Dan Walters was less charitable, observing that the plan does little to address the state's unfunded pension liabilities. Walters suggests the plan is merely an attempt to divert attention from the breakdown in budget talks. PSI contributor Steven Greenhut called the pension proposals "a yawner."
Brown's problem is that the state's pension funds have been sending big bills not only to Sacramento but to the state's municipalities for future pension obligations, which means that unless Brown comes up with something more substantial, the pension bite on California budgets will only continue to grow.
Brown's problem is that the state's pension funds have been sending big bills not only to Sacramento but to the state's municipalities for future pension obligations, which means that unless Brown comes up with something more substantial, the pension bite on California budgets will only continue to grow.
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