Unsustainable benefits are stupid. Of course, when legislators pass pension hikes, they do so knowing that it pleases powerful unions now and the costs to tax

Unsustainable benefits are stupid. Of course, when legislators pass pension hikes, they do so knowing that it pleases powerful unions now and the costs to tax payers are decades down the road. So it is one of the more appealing ways for a legislator to screw their state. They may even be out of office by the time the bill comes due! Defined-benefit pensions are a huge drag on many state budgets, and paying them does nothing to improve the quality of current government services. The bluer the state, the more they are screwed: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/the-best-life/2012/11/08/5-trillion-price-tag-for-public-pensions http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/the-best-life/2012/11/08...