Your link lost me when it started talking about the state employees’ pension funds as available for paying off current deficits.
It is well known that state pension funds, particularly in CA, not only do not have excess funds available, but are in fact wildly underfunded. To an extent that would be criminal if perpetrated by a private business.
The pensions are “underfunded”, indeed - and that means (surprise!) by legislation that taxpayers will be tapped to make up the shortfall.
Money is fungible, and what the CAFR documents is that (apparently) California is sitting on billions of dollars (outside of pension programs) that are not being counted.
While it has long been my wish to have a pony too, why shouldn’t the pension funds be tapped to pay off pensioners, versus raising taxes to exorbitant rates on others who have neither the means nor the inclination to fund these programs?