Pensions Sinking Bay Counties

by CalWatchdog Staff | October 26, 2010 10:23 am

Steven Greenhut: A Milken Institute pension panel stacked with unions and liberal politicians last week argued mainly for the status quo, yet a new report suggests that four Bay Area counties could be inching toward bankruptcy unless they get their pension obligations under control[1]. As KGO reported:

A national study finds several Bay Area counties are being driven toward bankruptcy because of ballooning pension costs. Four of the 10 counties in the worst trouble nationwide are in Northern California. Here they are: Sonoma, San Joaquin, San Mateo and Contra Costa Counties. A lot of these cities will have their pension funds go bankrupt around 2023.

According to a Northwestern University study, Contra Costa County is among several in the Bay Area headed for insolvency in the next 15 years. The culprit researchers say is unfunded liabilities from employee pension systems. The study puts Contra Costa’s unfunded pension liability at $5 billion and predicts the county will be insolvent in 2025.

But you can trust the unions and the state’s Democrats! It will all be OK. The economy will come roaring back. All we need to do is raise taxes on the greedy rich and on business owners. That’s essentially what the other side is saying. But eventually the state and localities will run out of money. And higher taxes won’t help an ailing economy. And businesses will keep moving to friendlier climates, despite the efforts by liberal think tanks such as the Public Policy Institute of California, which insist otherwise.

OCT. 26

Source URL: https://calwatchdog.com/2010/10/26/pensions-sinking-bay-counties/

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