> If we're going to be adults, we're also going to recognize that many of us were not adults when these contracts were drawn up and signed. Many of us were neve

> If we're going to be adults, we're also going to recognize that many of us were not adults when these contracts were drawn up and signed. Many of us were never even born, and some of those who were of the right age opposed them to some degree or another. Which curiously, is exactly the solution we have in place now: reduced benefits for new employees to compensate for outsized ones for retirees. Should they stand for this? > It's not a responsible behavior to over promise pensions and bankrupt dozens of states either. Nor, in the pursuit of fulfilling those reckless promises, is it responsible to bankrupt future generations. You're ignoring the substantial hand states have had in making this crisis. Several have continually neglected their annual contributions. Maybe they were backed into a corner when tax reciepts fell in 2008, maybe it was a political self-inflicted wound. When states like Kansas or Colorado cut taxes and take on substantial debt, it's pretty goddamn odious to point to budget shortfalls and say "Sorry employees, we can't make our pension obligation, we have interest payments to make!" Moreover, when demanding pensions take a cut while paying lenders 100 cents on the dollar, you're concentrating investment losses onto those least able to afford it.