Hello, Mike,
All my life since I heard it said many decades ago, I firmly believe the following dictum. All my experience has confirmed it.
The dictum is: "PEOPLE GET THE GOVERNMENT THEY DESERVE."
Regards.
Maritimus

As a NY State pensioner I retired at 50% of my FAS, Final average base salary. Yes, I could bolster my FAS by working gobs of OT but only increase my FAS by 20% of the OT pay. If my FAS was $100K with any additional OT payments I retire at $50K. NY City is a different plan and a cop making $75K/ year can work all the OT he can stand and increase his/her FAS to well over $200K and then retire after 20 years with 50% or $100K or work for many years more and keep increasing his FAS plus retire at a higher percentage up to and possibly more than 75% of FAS. Illinois, California and NY City, All democrat strongholds, have created their own problems with these great pension plans where many if not most make more money being retired than the actual salary they were paid while working. This is a clear result of Union negotiations and corruption. Who in their right mind would not love to be paid more for staying home on retirement than what they earned while working?

Their problem is an entitlement complex which they think taxpayers should be on the hook for. And by taxpayers I mean "other people than me." It's a cultural problem to which the fiscal evidence is now showing.

As per the article, Mitch McConnell is right...let the states declare bankruptcy...they got themselves into this pickle and I, for one, don’t want taxpayers paying for this profligate spending...I have enough trouble with taxation being theft at the point of a gun, in the first place...

I have an update. Illinois Senate President (Democrat) Don Harmon has come up with a solution. He has sent an official letter to the US Congress asking for 40.6 billion to pay Illinois' debts. No offer of reform or policy changes. Just pay all of our debts so we can keep doing what we are already doing. One of our few Republican Senators, Jason Plummer, is asking Congress not to give Illinois a dime. Make us fix our own problems he is asking Congress. If Congress goes Democrat I think these state bail outs will happen.

The same seems to be happening at every level of government across the entire country. These are the people that disparage high salaries and perks in the private sector in order to create sound bites to get re-elected or appointed. When these people want more they just send out the bullies to slap around the citizenry to collect the loot. The private sector has no such recourse - it just goes under - unless it can convince government to do it's bully thing to get bailout loot. We're screwed.

I live in Illinois and it is actually worse than depicted. Illinois has a constitutional amendment making it illegal to ever lower benefits for any state employee once it is negotiated. School superintendents get their boards to give them $75,000 raises their last 6 months before retirement. There retirement is something like 80% of their final salary. There are reports on union officials working as substitute teachers for a week and getting five figure pensions. No one in Illinois cares. This is truly a one party state. The same people are elected over and over. Our state motto should be "Thank you sir, may i have another".