[nathanbedford]

I think you are right, the unions will choose to drive the states into bankruptcy because that way the leadership of the unions will not have to explain why they traded away their members' pensions they can simply blame it on the Republicans and the courts.

The Republicans, for their part, face a political problem: if they oppose bailing out the states they will be accused of heartlessness again and could be held responsible for the fallout damage which cannot now be calculated. It is impossible to say how bad the ripple effect would be from the implosion of an economy the size of California's.

Therefore, Republicans must define the equation as a choice between those states which have been responsible and those states which have been irresponsible and ask why responsible states should be taxed for irresponsible states which pandered to public-interest unions to win elections for Democrats. Even more effective, Republicans must structure the argument as a choice between public interest union pensions and Social Security.

[bruinbirdman]

"Prichard, Alabama officials are trying to do something that has never been done anywhere in the United States: Reduce vested pension benefits through municipal bankruptcy."

yitbos

[goldstategop]

No one begrudges those who have served our country and no one wants to take away their retirement benefits from them. That’s a non-issue. By the same token, if we’re going to save those pensions, we have to make sure we can pay for them. And if we can’t, then people who were counting on receiving them in their golden years will be left with nothing. That is just not acceptable. And pension reform is already happening, whether the unions like it or not.

[major-pelham]

There should be a pre-emptive strike methinks. States should need to have their finances certified in order to maintain their status - private sector generated bond ratings or something like that. If a state fail to meet a rating, as any insurance company would, their funds are escrowed rather than delivered until the situation is remedied. It’s not about limiting state sovereignty, its about preserving the rest of the state’s sovereignty.

The risk to the other states of California becoming Greece is too great. It is sheer lunacy to assume that North Dakotans should and would support California’s failure to face reality. That is a new civil war in the making.