MORE ON THOSE UNDERFUNDED / OVERGENEROUS PUBLIC PENSIONS:

Paying the price for pension vote buys:

I am hearing that the City of Santa Ana budget has been cut to the bone, but this summer’s retroactive pension formula bump to 2.7-at-55 is greatly exacerbating their financial woes. This explains why they have implemented a hiring freeze.

So why did they spike their public employees’ pensions?

The short answer is that Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido was facing two challengers this year. So he gave the police and firemen everything they wanted so that they would continue to finance “Team Pulido.” Well, I hope they are all happy now that the city’s budget deficit is spiraling out of control.

Meanwhile, in New York City, it’s a pension nightmare. Plus, in Florida, calls for reform. “Those of us who have seen the values of our own retirement savings fall by a third or more this year can’t help but wonder why such windfalls are generally not available outside government.” (Via PensionWatch).