07 May 2013

The Devil's In The Details

Okay. So posting about government retirement accounting is about as dry a topic as can be imagined. Yet as I've noted here, underfunded state and municipal retirement pensions and retiree medical benefits account for a huge portion of governmental insolvency. (And, in the cities of Vallejo and Stockton, municipal bankruptcy.)

At The Economist piece here, once can read a fine and understandable explanation of the accounting details of the current dire situation.

Sadly, few with the power to do anything about the problem care to understand it. Or, if they understand, they certainly don't care to do anything about it. Kicking the can down the road is a time-honored way for elected officials to deal with unpleasant states of affairs. Eventually, however, folks will suffer and my greatest regret is that it won't be those who swept the problem under the rug for so many years.

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