I've made my living as a professional pension actuary (a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, or "FSA"). This writer seems to have only a partial grasp of the facts. I suspect that the politicians in this case also have a garbled & incomplete grasp of the facts -- that's how these problems become so large in the first place.
Hey, isn't that why politicians hire people (FSAs) like you? To give them a clearer and more complete grasp of the facts?
Most every public plan has been able to meet its actuarial rate (around 8.5%) over the past 10 years. Why are there unfunded liabilities? Because the plan sponsors haven't been making their actuarially determined contributions.