What I believe you are both missing is that these states are not locked into these outrageous contracts forever, just until they come up for renewel. They are then free to renogiate or even to pass legislation disallowing public sector unions.
The Leftists in these states are now stuck in the unfavorable position of telling their paid constituancy “No more graveytrain” or continuing the death spiral. A choice ultimately up to the voters of that state.
If you give them this “third way”. They will renig on the outrageous promises they made to get elected without paying a political price.
All of the Republicans and just enough Dims will vote to renig on the contracts, along with a Dim Gov. The Republicans will then be demonized, the Dim Gov. exchanged for a new Dim Gov., and the Leftists will gain ground in the next election promising to give back what was taken from the poor unions.
Even a total death spiral would be benecial to the rest of the country. Perhaps a failed bond offering and no state checks in California would have a sobering effect across the nation. It would also pave the path concerning what actually constitutes necessary government spending.
I'm not missing it. A five year contract foolishly negotiated by an administration that was pandering for votes means that even if you replace the administration, there is little they can do to address the problem.
They are the people's elected officials and the people gave them the authority to negotiate those contracts. Bankruptcy is a process through which someone can gain relief when it is no longer possible for them to fulfill their obligations.
I believe bankruptcy has a place in our society, but it must be as fair and equitable as possible. Having union contracts be the ONLY obligation that can be renegotiated doesn't seem fair.
This doesn't seem like the proper way to limit the power of unions. You shouldn't limit power by giving the government power to negotiate in bad faith and then back out.