California dreaming : lessons on how to resolve America's public pension crisis / Lawrence J. McQuillan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McQuillan, Lawrence J., 1961-

Series:

Independent studies in political economy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pensions--Government policy.

Pensions.

California--Officials and employees--Pensions.

California.

Pensions--Government policy--California.

Physical Description:

xxi, 137 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oakland, CA : The Independent Institute, [2015]

Summary:

Land of Opportunity-or Financial Armageddon? A crisis is brewing in California and elsewhere across the United States. For decades, public pension officials and politicians of both parties have promised their employees increasingly generous retirement benefits-while low-balling the contributions that are needed to cover these promises-presenting our greatest financial challenge since the Great Depression. Pushing today's pension liability onto our children and grandchildren leaves them with a depleted future and a potentially bankrupt California. State and local governments will scramble to find funds, forcing them to raise taxes, slash public services, and/or declare bankruptcy. Schools, parks, emergency services, and public-employee retirement benefits will be at risk. Politicians will defer until circumstances force them to reckon with a disaster of their own making. In California Dreaming, Lawrence J. McQuillan pulls back the curtains covering this unfunded liability crisis. He describes the true extent of the problem, explains the critical factors that are driving public pension debt sky-high, and exposes the perverse incentives that have rewarded lawmakers and pension officials for not fixing the problem and letting it escalate. Finally, he offers the six crucial reforms needed to restore the financial health of California and other threatened jurisdictions. If McQuillan's roadmap for reform is adopted, the prospects for achieving a thriving, balanced and equitable future are highly favorable. If not, the many opportunities that once made the Golden State seem like a Promised Land will quickly evaporate. Book jacket.

Contents:

The problems

How are defined-benefit pensions calculated?

How are pension funds amassed?

California's massive public pension unfunded liabilities

What are the major drivers of the pension problem?

Why did lawmakers allow this problem to worsen and why have they not solved it?

The immorality of California's public pension crisis

Why pay pensions at all?

The critical elements of a comprehensive solution

The fiscal advantages

The moral advantages.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781598131895

1598131893

9781598132434

1598132431

OCLC:

899073259

Publisher Number:

99973575720