Here are some reasons I think "why": - Long term liabilities are not tracked (e.g., muni worker pensions, pension guaranteed CoL adjustments) as hard liabiliti

Here are some reasons I think "why": - Long term liabilities are not tracked (e.g., muni worker pensions, pension guaranteed CoL adjustments) as hard liabilities. That makes it easy to budget things now and borrow invisibly from the future - Heads I Win, Tails You Lose mentality given that federal government or others could possibly bail you out. - Leadership worries about elections NOW and approval rating NOW, not about issues 20yrs into the future - Some muni worker groups have a stranglehold over towns and can demand far more than economically feasible, or else - Insufficient critical mass of citizenry to look at long term issues