Pensions are ok as long as they're (a) fully funded and (b) managed well. Politics makes both hard. (a) because it's much easier to promise benefits without fu

Pensions are ok as long as they're (a) fully funded and (b) managed well. Politics makes both hard. (a) because it's much easier to promise benefits without fully contributing the present value of future liabilities. Ask the average taxpayer how much a pension costs, they'd have no idea how to even start thinking about all the complex financial math this requires (life expectancy, discount rates, return expectations, etc) so it's too easy to play games. Especially when game playing=lower taxes and more benefits. (b) because pensions are huge pots of money and it's just too hard not to touch that. Though CalPERS seems to have resisted this temptation to some extent, which I find impressive. Believe me, I wish I was wrong, but we're talking about basic human nature here, which I don't think is something you can really change.