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Welcome

The oncoming wave of public pension debt is even bigger than it seems. The purpose of this website is to provide an overview of the multiple pension crises that are about to drown America's taxpayers. Our primary focus is on California, but we also track other state pension funds, corporate pensions, milti-employer pension funds, social security and international trends. Now in its 15th year, PensionTsunami was founded by and is edited by Jack Dean. (Contact: JackDean-at-PensionTsunami-dot-com or 916-644-0688 or @PensionTsunami)

Latest Newsclips     last updated May 29 10:39am PST

Each day's headline summary is e-mailed to subscribers.

May 29, 2020

• As of 3:30 AM (Pacific Time):
• How to Free California's Budget Hostages (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)

May 28, 2020

• State Bankruptcy and Bailout Reactions: Would Pensions Really Have to Be Cut in Bankruptcy? (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)

May 27, 2020

• California’s Deficit Requires That CalPERS and CalSTRS Pensioners Pay Their Share (Ralph E. Shaffer / Fox & Hounds)
• Modesto, California Faces Budget Shortfall Due to Coronavirus (Kevin Valine / Modesto Bee)
• State Bankruptcy and Bailout Reactions: The Ants Aren't Interested in Feeding the Grasshopper (blog - Mary Pat Campbell /STUMP)
• US Public Pensions Less Than 60% Funded? (blog - Leo Kolivakis / Pension Pulse)
• Do Not Bail Out States for Years of Fiscal Mismanagement (Kay C. James / Heritage Foundation)
• Status Check: Cloudy Days for Defined Benefit Pensions? (Graham Womack / Comstock's Magazine)
• State Pension Boards Lack Investment Experience -- What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (Edward Siedle / Forbes)

May 26, 2020

• The Arrival of the 'Unavoidable Pension Crisis' (Lance Roberts / Seeking Alpha)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: A Pre-Existing Condition (Chip Bok / Bokbluster.com)
• Just Say No to State Pension Bailouts (editorial - Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)

May 22, 2020

• States Under Fiscal Pressure: California (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)
• Goleta, California Makes Budget Cuts to Stay in the Black (Jean Yamamura / Santa Barbara Independent)
• Novato, California Plans Buyouts, Furloughs as $5.7 Million Deficit Looms (Will Houston / Marin Independent Journal)

May 21, 2020

• Goldman Sachs Estimates Public Pensions Now Less Than 60% Funded on Average (Steffan Navedo-Perez / Chief Investment Officer)
• US Pension Funds Approach Point of No Return (Jamie Williamson / Financial Standard)

May 20, 2020

• California’s Budget Bust-Up (Steven Malanga / City Journal)
• Why California Is In Trouble -- 340,000 Public Employees With $100,000+ Paychecks Cost Taxpayers $45 Billion (Adam Andrzejewski / Forbes)

May 19, 2020

• California's Legislative Analyst Slams Plan to Limit School Pension Payments (Romy Varghese / Bloomberg)$$
• Worst Public Pension Quarterly Results Reported -- Reality Is Far Worse (Edward Siedle / Forbes)

May 18, 2020

• California Isn’t Colorado (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• Moneypalooza Monstrosity! Looking at the Multiemployer Pension Bailout Provisions (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)

May 16, 2020

• WEEKEND NEWS:
• Facing Pension Crisis, Montebello to Take on Debt (Mike Sprague / Whittier Daily News)
• Hidden in the HEROES Act: A New Multiemployer Pension Plan Bailout (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

May 15, 2020

• Gavin Newsom’s $203.3 Billion California Budget Cuts Pension Funding, Spends Reserves (Sophia Bollag, Adam Ashton & Hannah Wiley / Sacramento Bee)
• Coronavirus Shutdown Forced Inevitable Cuts in Santa Monica, Fiscal Expert Says (Jorge Casuso / Santa Monica Lookout)

May 14, 2020

• Local Governments Looking for Revenue Are Watching the California Supreme Court (Joel Fox / Fox & Hounds)
• California State Workers Face 10 Percent Pay Cut, Possible Furloughs, Union Leader Says (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

May 13, 2020

• CalSTRS Mandates More Money From State and Employers to Absolve Growing Deficit (Steffan Navedo-Perez / Chief Investment Officer)
• Pension Debt, Fiscal Mismanagement, and Why State/Local Bailout Requests Are So Maddening (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

May 12, 2020

• California's Cities Need Reform, Not Bailouts (op-ed - Jim Righeimer & Bruce Whitaker / Orange County Register)
• Legal and Moral Grounds for Pension and OPEB Changes in California (David Crane / Medium.com)
• Public Pension-Fund Losses Set Record in First Quarter (Heather Gillers / Wall Street Journal)$$

May 11, 2020

• California's Pension Systems Are Headed to BK, But Not Due to C-19 Losses (Wayne Lusvardi / California Globe)
• Orange County Cities Are Facing a Financial Mess (editorial - Orange County Register)
• California Budget Season Could Offer Impossible Choices for Elected Officials (column - Dick Spotswood / Marin Independent Journal)

May 8, 2020

• California Budget Do’s and Don’ts (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• Pensions in the Time of a Pandemic (Larry Sand / California Policy Center)
• Can California Cities Weather the Covid Recession? (Ben Christopher / CALmatters)
• Flexibility, Not Bankruptcy (editorial - Pensions & Investments)

May 7, 2020

• California State Supreme Court Weighs Timely Pension Case (editorial - CALmatters)
• California High Court Hears Pension Reform Arguments (Arleen Jacobius / Pensions & Investments)
• Takeaways From Tuesday’s Supreme Court Oral Arguments in Alameda Pension Case (Messing Adam & Jasmine)

May 6, 2020

• Are California Public Employee Pensions 'Sacrosanct?’ State Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Jerry Brown’s Law (Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

May 5, 2020

• Alameda Pension Case Oral Argument Is Today at 9:00 AM: Three Things to Watch for (Messing Adam & Jasmine)
• Bankrupt Cities and States Get the National Disaster They’ve Been Hoping for (John Rubino / DollarCollapse.com)

May 4, 2020

• Allowing States to Declare Bankruptcy No Panacea to State Budget Woes (op-ed - Tom Campbell / Orange County Register)
• Pension-Spiking Showdown at California Supreme Court Tomorrow (editorial - San Jose Mercury News)
• An Extended Lockdown May Devastate California Cities (Marc Joffe/ Fox & Hounds)

May 2, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Rates of Pay and Pension Debt in California’s Distressed Cities (Edward Ring / California Policy Center)

May 1, 2020

• This Is No Time to Bail Out Already Failing Union Pension Funds (editorial - Washington Examiner)

April 30, 2020

• Will Pensions Be 'On the Chopping Block’ in Recession? California Supreme Court to Hear Case (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacamento Bee)
• Put California’s Public Employee Pensions on a Ventilator (NO PAYWALL - John Moorlach / Fullerton Taxpayers)
• Anaheim’s $475,000 City Manager Sacking Heightens Accountability, Transparency Concerns (Spencer Custodio / Voice of OC)
• Grand Jury Report: Marin Public Entities Still Lacking on Pay Transparency (Will Houston / Marin Independent Journal)

April 29, 2020

• Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Bail Out States But Not Irresponsible Pension Funds (editorial - USA Today)
• Nice $200,000 Pensions if You Can Get Them. Bailout Time? (William Baldwin / Forbes)

April 28, 2020

• CalPERS Reports -0.4% Return for Year Ended March 31, Also Adopts New Contribution Rates (Arleen Jacobius / Pensions & Investments)
• The Impact of Coronavirus on California's Public Pensions -- an Interview With State Sen. John Moorlach (audio - California Local Elected Officials)
• The Fed Should Not Be Bailing Out the Underfunded Pensions of Cities and States (Robert C. Pozen / MarketWatch)
• McConnell Rules Out Pension Aid for States (Hazel Bradford / Pensions & Investments)
• California Could Fare Worse From Economic Collapse Than From COVID-19 Itself (Shelley Henderson / Orange County Breeze)

April 27, 2020

• Pensions Leave California Cities With Bankruptcy as Their Life Raft (column - Steven Greenhut / Orange County Register)
• The Covid-19 Economic Collapse Is Absolutely Wrecking State Pension Systems (Eric Boehm / Reason)
• Social Security Will Be Insolvent Even Sooner Than Expected, Thanks to COVID-19 Pandemic (Eric Boehm / Reason)

April 24, 2020

• Next Big Funding Fight -- Bailing Out Blue State Pension Problems (William A. Jacobson / Legal Insurrection)
• States Should Not Receive Bankruptcy Protection (Kevin D. Williamson / National Review)
• Why California Can’t Cut Its Way Past Covid (Joe Mathews / Fox & Hounds)
• Rick Cole Quits Santa Monica Post, Telling City to Get Real With Viral Budget (Larry Wilson / Pasadena Star News)
• Cole Resigns as Santa Monica City Manager (Jorge Casuso / Santa Monica Lookout)

April 23, 2020

• US Public Pension Funding Levels Plunge to 66% in Q1 (Michael Katz / Chief Investment Officer)
• McConnell: Let States Go Bankrupt; California Pension Crisis and Tax Hikes Will Destroy the Golden State (Konstantinos Roditis / NOQ Report)
• Governors Halt Raises, Freeze State Workers’ Pay Outside California as Recession Takes Hold (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• How the Market Downturn Could Affect Public Pension Funds (Greg Mennis / Pew Trusts)

April 22, 2020

• Market Downturn Portends Big Losses for Government Pension Funds -- and Billions in New Obligations for Taxpayers (Steven Malanga / City Journal)
• Coronavirus Will Make America’s Cities Feel the Pressure of Pension Debt (Jen Sidorova / MarketWatch)
• Report: Teacher Pension Debt Is 'Crowding Out' Funding for Education (Linda Jacobson / Education Dive)
• School Superintendents Want Newsom to Freeze School District Pensions (Pasadena Now)

April 21, 2020

• Put California's Public Pensions on a Ventilator (John Moorlach / The Bond Buyer)$$
• Questionable California Priorities Are About to Hit Pocket Books (opinion - Ronald Stein / Heartland Institute)
• The Upcoming Public Pension Bailout and the Power of Incentives (Adam Strauss / Appleseed Capital)
• Illinois Is Insolvent: State Requests a Pension Bailout From Congress (blog - Mike Shedlock / Mish Talk)
• $10 Billion Illinois Pension Bailout Request Called 'Infuriating' (Sarah Min / Chief Investment Officer)
• Despite Massive Private Sector Layoffs, Illinois Still Scheduled to Give $261 Million Pay Raises to Government Employees (Illinois Review)
• Illinois Senate Democrats Seek Massive Federal Bailout for State, Going Far Beyond Coronavirus Impact (Mark Glennon & Ted Dabrowski / Wirepoints)
• Illinois Pension Bailout Request Reaction Roundup - and Why It’s a Nonstarter (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

April 20, 2020

• Court to Hear Oral Arguments Remotely in 'California-Rule' Pension Case (Arleen Jacobius / Pensions & Investments)
• The Next Covid-19 Victim? Public Pension Funds. (Michael R. Glass & Sean H. Vanatta / Washington Post)
• Why California Can't Cut Its Way Past COVID (op-ed - Joe Mathews / Bakersfield Californian)
• Feasting on the California Taxpayer (Jim Davis / American Thinker)
• Illinois’ Shameless, Dishonest Ask for a Federal Bailout (editorial - Chicago Tribune)
• 3 Reasons Why States Shouldn’t Get a Congressional Bailout (Rachel Greszler / Daily Signal)
• Public Pension Funds Shouldn't Wait for a Return to 'Normal' (op-ed - Anthony Randazzo / The Hill)
• Pensions, Furloughs and Telework: What Does a Recession Hold for California State Workers? (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

April 18, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: School Districts Couldn’t Stop Raising Employee Pay -- Now Kids Will Pay the Price (opinion - Todd Maddison / Voice of San Diego)

April 17, 2020

• The Editor Is Playin' Hooky Today

April 16, 2020

• Public Pension Funds Face Reckoning From Equity Rout, Tax Revenue Losses (Fola Akinnibi / Bloomberg)

April 15, 2020

• Huntington Beach Denies Pandemic Reality, Dispenses Pay Raises (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• El Cerrito, California is on the Edge of Bankruptcy -- and Faces Big Cuts (Jon Kawamoto / East Bay Times)
• Simi Valley, California Reverses Course, Will Not Issue Risky Bonds to Refinance Large Debt to CalPERS (Mike Harris / Ventura County Star)
• Riverside County, California to Issue $720.9 Million in Pension Obligation Bonds (Danielle Moran & William Selway / Bloomberg News)
• Santa Barbara's City Managers Should Take a 30% Pay Cut (op-ed - Eleanor Fowler / edhat.com)
• The Truth About LACERS -- The City’s Annual Contribution (Tom Moutes / CityWatch LA)

April 14, 2020

• California Split Roll Ballot Measure Is Just a Pension Bailout (editorial - Orange County Register)
• Don't Use Coronavirus as Excuse to Bail Out State and Local Governments That Have Mismanaged Finances for Decades (Joshua D. Rauh / Fox Business)
• GOLDEN OLDIE: The Looming Public Pension Crisis (video - Joshua Rauh / Stanford Graduate School of Business)
• Why Trump Is Indifferent to the Crisis at the US Postal Service (Steve Benen / MSNBC)
• The Debate Over a Post Office Bailout, Explained (Matthew Yglesias / Vox)
• Why National Pension Systems Are a Ticking Time Bomb (Anchalee Worrachate / Washington Post)

April 13, 2020

• Public Pensions Have Lost $1 Trillion in Value. That's Bad News for Teacher Pay (Daarel Burnette II / Education Week)
• Nation’s Largest Pension Fund CalPERS Stopped Paying for Crash Insurance -- in January (Leanna Orr / Institutional Investor)

April 11, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Public Pensions Face Liquidity Crunch Amid Volatility (Michelle Jones / ValueWalk)

April 10, 2020

• Marin Pension Fund Took 14.2% Virus Hit in 1st Quarter (Richard Halstead / Marin Independent Journal)
• CalPERS Gave Up a $1-Billion Payday by Scrapping a Hedge Against a Stocks Crash (Erik Schatzker / Los Angeles Times)

April 9, 2020

• Does Multi-Employer Pension Reform Belong in a 'Phase Four’ Coronavirus Bill? (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• No Bailout for Broke Pensions (Charles Blahous / Wall Street Journal)$$

April 8, 2020

• Economic Impacts of Coronavirus Shrink City of Santa Monica Revenues (Madeleine Pauker / Santa Monica Daily Press)
• Coronavirus Side Effect: Even More Pension Performance Puffery (Edward Siedle / Forbes)
• Public Pensions Taking Big Hit From COVID-19; CalPERS Accounts for Some $69 Billion in Losses (Marlene Satter / BenefitsPro)

April 7, 2020

• COVID-19 Market Volatility Adds New Intensity to the US Virgin Islands' Pension Crisis (Marc Joffe & Jodi Lieberman / Reason)
• PBGC Program Set for Reversal of Fortune (Hazel Bradford / Pensions & Investments)

April 6, 2020

• Recent Stock Market Losses May Spike Local Pension Costs, But Not Immediately (David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Virus Cost San Mateo $10 Million in 2 Months (Zachary Clark / Daily Journal)
• California's Pension Bomb Fuse Just Got Shorter (column - Jon Coupal / Orange County Register)
• Underfunded Public Pension Plans Facing a New Round of Woes (James Comtois / Pensions & Investments)

April 4, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Does the Post Office Need a Pension Bailout, and What Does That Have to Do With the Coronavirus? (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

April 3, 2020

• Pensions in a Pandemic: Is One Man's Bailout Another Man’s Pension Funding Relief? (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• Santa Barbara County Employee Retirement System Takes Big Pension Hit (Joshua Molina / Noozhawk)
• Debate Over Pension Bailouts Rages Amid COVID-19 Pandemic (Michelle Jones / ValueWalk)
• Rhode Island 'Weeks, Not Months’ From Running Out of Cash (Katherine Gregg / Providence Journal)
• The Coronavirus Has Been Devastating for Providence’s Pension Fund (Dan McGowan / Boston Globe)

April 2, 2020

• Coronavirus Is Making the Public Pension Crisis Even Worse (Mary Williams Walsh / New York Times)
• Coronavirus Is the Tipping Point That Just Upended Pensions (Byrne Hobart / Marker)
• City Manager Details How Much Pasadena’s Economy Is Hurting (Kevin Kenney / Pasadena Now)
• California Pension Math (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• Democrats to Seek Aid for Troubled Union Pensions in Next Relief Package (Susan Ferrechio / Washington Examiner)

April 1, 2020

• Post-Coronapocalypse Pension Reform Checklist for California (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• CalSTRS Expects Market 'Potholes,' Sticking With Funding Plan, Says CIO Ailman (video - Bloomberg)
• We Wasted an Economic Boom, and Now We Are Starting to Pay the Price (op-ed - Adrian Moore / Orange County Register)
• Millennials Given Responsibility to Pay for Retirement Programs' Investment Deficiencies (op-ed - Ronald Stein / Eurasia Review)

March 31, 2020

• What Happens as State and Local Tax Revenues Crater? (Charles Hugh Smith / Wall Street Window)
• Stock Market Swing Should Raise Alarms About California’s Pensions Woes (editorial / Orange County Register)
• US Public Pensions Lose $1 Trillion From Market Crash (Michael Katz / Chief Investment Officer)

March 30, 2020

• Coronavirus Outbreak Reveals California's Big Financial Shortcomings (column - Dan Walters / Pasadena Star-News)
• Don't Let States Rob COVID-19 Funds to Bail Out Pension Funds (Ted Dabrowski & Mark Glennon / RealClear Politics)
• Military Pensions Too Generous? Will They Be Cut? (Edward Siedle / Forbes)

March 28, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: CalPERS Unprepared for the Coronavirus Recession (column - Daniel Borenstein / San Jose Mercury News)

March 27, 2020

• The Next Looming Economic Contagion: Pensions Collapse (John Klar / American Thinker)
• A Public Health Crisis Is No Time for Private Pension Bailouts (Rachel Greszler / Heritage Foundation)
• The Truth About LACERS -- The LACERS’ Board, What Happened? (Tom Moutes / CityWatch LA)
• 2020 Pension Investment Losses Tracking at 20 Percent (Michelle Jones / ValueWalk)

March 26, 2020

• Coronavirus Threatens to Wipe Out California’s $21-Billion Surplus. and It Could Get Worse (John Myers / Los Angeles Times)
• Lompoc Just Might Not Get What It Voted for (commentary - Ron Fink / Santa Maria Sun)
• Pension Reform Newsletter for March 2020 (Reason Foundation)
• The Time Is Ripe for Public Pension Obligation Bonds (Girard Miller / Pensions & Investments)
• The Coronavirus Shock Has Tanked Millions of Private Sector Retirement Accounts (Ben Steverman / Bloomberg Law)

March 25, 2020

• Coronavirus, Declining Stocks and Alternative Investments: Bad News for CalPERS and CalSTRS (op-ed - Marc Joffe / Orange County Register)
• Market Rout Leaves Public Pension Funds Nursing a Nearly $1 Trillion Loss for Fiscal 2020: Moody’s (Sunny Oh / MarketWatch)
• Monterey Area Cities Concerned About Jump in Pension Obligations (Dennis L. Taylor / Monterey Herald)
• GOLDEN OLDIE: Pension Puffery: 12 Half-Truths That Deserve to Be Debunked [see #4] (Girard Miller / Governing)
• ISSUE BRIEF: The 80% Pension Funding Standard Myth (pdf - American Academy of Actuaries)

March 24, 2020

• Multi-employer Pension Bailout Too (blog - John Bury / Burypensions)
• Time for California’s Unions to Get Serious About Pension Reform (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• Public Pensions Before the Storm: Looking at Systems Not Set Up for Sustainability (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)

March 23, 2020

• San Diego Governments Brace for Impacts of Economic Tumult on Pension Costs (Ashly McGlone / Voice of San Diego)

March 22, 2020

• California Must Act Quickly to Address the Financial Crisis (op-ed - John Moorlach / Orange County Register)
• BREAKING: CalPERS Loses $69 Billion in Biggest Market Losses Since Great Recession (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

March 21, 2020

• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: State Was Full of Bull, as Bear Market Was Looming. Then the Coronavirus Hit. (column - Steven Greenhut / Orange County Register)

March 20, 2020

• CalPERS, Largest US Pension Fund, Loses $67 Billion Since January (Romy Varghese / BloombergQuint)
• California Cities in Critical Condition (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• Coronavirus Could Kill Your Pension (Edward Siedle / Forbes)
• The Truth About LACERS -- Necessary Conversations (Tom Moutes / CityWatch LA)

March 19, 2020

• Southern California Cities Sound Alarm Over Coming Financial Hit From Coronavirus (Teri Sforza / Orange County Register)
• The Exasperating Politics of Pensions and Trust Funds (Kevin Kosar / R Street Institute)

March 18, 2020

• The Debt-Driven Party Had to End Eventually, Coronavirus or No Coronavirus (blog - Larry Littlefield / Saying the Unsaid in New York)
• Riverside County Supervisors Approve Bonds to Pare Down Pension Liabilities (Associated Press / Valley News)
• Multiemployer Pensions Update: Yes, Still in Crisis (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

March 17, 2020

• COVID-19’s Harsh Impact on State Pension Systems and School Districts (op-ed - Alix Ollivier / Orange County Register)

March 16, 2020

• Government Pensions Are Dividing Americans and Damaging the Economy (Edward Ring / American Greatness)
• CalPERS Battles Former Board Member Over Real Estate Investment Values (Chris Flood / Financial Times)
• CalPERS Pensions to Grow Slightly in 2020 With Cost-Of-Living Increase for Retirees (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• San Diego’s Pension Payment Jumps Another $15 Million, Squeezing Budget Even Tighter (David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune)

March 14, 2020

• SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT: The Truth About LACERS (Jack Humphreville / CityWatch LA)

March 13, 2020

• As Investors Flock to Bonds to Avoid Risk, Pension Plans Face Shrinking Returns (Allison Schrager / City Journal)
• Californians Reject New Taxes and Borrowing (Edward Ring / California Policy Center)

March 12, 2020

• Lawsuit Arguing ERISA Preemption of CalSavers Dismissed (Rebecca Moore / PlanSponsor)
• Federal Judge Rebuffs ERISA Preemption Challenge -- Again (Nevin Adams / American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)
• California Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case Involving Sonoma County Pension Hikes (Will Schmitt / Press Democrat)

March 11, 2020

• COVID 19 Will End -- This Problem Will Not (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)

March 10, 2020

• NEW REPORT: Do New York City Teachers Have Adequate Retirement Benefits? (TeacherPensions.org)

March 9, 2020

• California School Districts Complain Proposed State Budget Won’t Cover Expenses (John Fensterwald / EdSource)
• Split Pension Decision for Busted California Highway Patrol Former Boss (Lloyd Billingsley / California Globe)

March 6, 2020

• CalSTRS Takes Stock of Coronavirus Impact (Preeti Singh / Financial News)
• Multi-Employer Pension Fund for Safeway Workers Is Expected to Become Insolvent Next Year (Jenny Gathright / dcist.com)

March 5, 2020

• The Golden State Pension 'Trainwreck' Is Coming (video - AlphaWeek)
• Lompoc Voters Approve Sales Tax Increase to Pay City’s Burgeoning Pension Debt (Zac Ezzone / Santa Maria Sun)

March 4, 2020

• For Growing Numbers of Struggling US Cities, the Downturn Has Arrived (Heather Gillers / Wall Street Journal)

March 3, 2020

• Vermont’s Crippling $4.6 Billion Pension and Retiree Health Care Liability (op-ed - Mark Crow / VTDigger)
• Want to Live to 100? These California Public Employees Have the Longest Lifespans (column - Andrew Sheeler / Sacramento Bee)
• Retirees’ Worst Nightmare: Federal Backing of Pension Funds at Risk (Doug Sword / Roll Call)
• Warren, Rhode Island Detective Retires After 22 Years on Sick Leave (Parker Gavigan / NBC 10)

March 2, 2020

• An Astonishing 231 Tax and Bond Measures Are on the Ballot Across California Due to Rise in Pension Obligations (San Diego News Desk)
• Chula Vista Considers Pension Obligation Bonds to Reduce Future Pension Costs (Gustavo Solis / San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Cost of Pensions Climb Even as Redwood City Boosts Payments (Ryan McCarthy / San Mateo Daily Journal)

February 29, 2020

• BREAKING: CalPERS Fund Drops by $15 Billion Amid Coronavirus Fears (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: More Research on Public Pensions and the 'Contracts Clause’ (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)

February 28, 2020

• A Stock Market Fall May Squeeze Public Pensions, Experts Say (Richard Williamson / The Bond Buyer)
• Interview With Robert Fellner, Executive Director of Transparent California (Arlene Martínez / USA Today)

February 27, 2020

• Pension Reform Newsletter for February 2020 (Reason Foundation)

February 26, 2020

• Powerful Public Sector Unions, Public Safety Compensation, and Actual Public Safety (Edward Ring / California Globe)
• Will a Sales Tax Save Lemon Grove, California? (Voice of San Diego)
• California Transit Station Agent Worked 361 Days in 2018, Made Over $100,000 in Overtime (Melanie Woodrow / ABC 6)

February 25, 2020

• As Pensions Break the Bank, Californians Face More Tax Hikes (editorial - Orange County Register)
• Even More Reasons for Angelenos to Reject Super Tuesday’s Prop 13, the $15 Billion School Bond (Jack Humphreville / CityWatch LA)
• Family Crime Drama Illuminates California Pension Crisis (K. Lloyd Billingsley / Independent Institute)
• CalPERS Top Money Man Is Swept Up in Chinese Espionage Fears (John Gittelsohn, Sridhar Natarajan & Jenny Leonard / BloombergQuint)
• The Bottom Line: Illinois’ Public Pension Debt Is a Moral Issue (Elizabeth Bauer / Forbes)
• The Moral Case for Pension Reform (blog - Mary Pat Campbell / STUMP)

February 24, 2020

• Children Descend on CalSTRS to Urge Fossil-Fuel Divestment (Arleen Jacobius / Pensions & Investments)
• California Does the Two-Step on Adding More Taxes (Susan Shelley / Pasadena Star-News)
• Trump Should Go to War Against Public Employee Pensions (opinion - Douglas MacKinnon / The Hill)

February 21, 2020

• Federal Retirement Benefits on the Chopping Block (John Grobe / FedSmith)

February 20, 2020

• Fewer Prisoners, Bigger California Prison Budgets (editorial - Orange County Register)
• More Older Americans Are on the Job -- And Dying There, Too (Justin Fox / Bloomberg)

February 19, 2020

• Biggest-Ever CalPERS Pension Tops $400,000 Per Year (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)

February 18, 2020

• City of Santa Monica Workers Protest Stalled Pension, Healthcare Negotiations (Madeleine Pauker / Santa Monica Daily Press)
• Indiana Congressman Calls on CalPERS CIO to Be Fired (Randy Diamond / Chief Investment Officer)

February 17, 2020

• $418,600 Pension for Former CalPERS Investment Manager Largest Ever, New Data Show (Robert Fellner / Transparent California)

February 15, 2020

• Enjoy the Long President's Day Weekend!

February 14, 2020

• Fighting the One-Party State at the Local Level in California (Edward Ring / California Policy Center)
• Will Migrating Golden State Residents Bring Left-Wing Politics to Their New Homes? Maybe Not. (Steven Malanga / City Journal)

February 13, 2020

• Multiemployer Pension Plans Take Center Stage in 2020 (op-ed - Ross Marchand / Washington Examiner)
• Ex-CHP Chief Who Helped Son Flee to Mexico After Rape Charge Wants His Pension Restored (column - Wes Venteicher / Sacramento Bee)
• Busted California Highway Patrol Boss Aims to Spike State Pension (Lloyd Billingsley / California Globe)
• US Lawmaker Calls for Ouster of CalPERS CIO Over China Ties: Letter (Alexandra Alper / Reuters)
• Newspaper Chain McClatchy Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy After Pension Woes, Print Declines (Nathan Bomey / USA Today)

February 12, 2020

• Curb Oakland Mayor Schaaf’s Insatiable Tax Appetite (editorial - East Bay Times)

February 11, 2020

• Californians Face a Wave of Local Tax Hike Measures (Craig Alexander / California Policy Center)
• Want a Relatively Painless Way to Curb Retiree Health Care Costs? Look to North Carolina (Daniel DiSalvo / Manhattan Institute)

February 10, 2020

• Disinformation in Sacramento (David Crane / Fox & Hounds)
• US Cities Look to Marijuana Taxes for Help (Heather Gillers / Marianas Variety)
• Lawsuit Targeting Sonoma County Pension Hikes Seeks Hearing From California Supreme Court (Will Schmitt / The Press Democrat)

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