A Very Bad Idea Coming Soon to a City Near You

[Nuclear Unicorn]

4. The pensioners would still be risking everything

Therein lies the rub. It's the half-loaf vs. whole loaf argument. To challenge the bankruptcy in court is to risk no loaf.

And for the city it's a diabolically easy call to make. Pensioners are formerly productive future expenses. Meanwhile bonds are future revenue. Stick it to the penshioners you save money. Stick it to the bond-holders you lose future revenue. It's a sad, sick calculus. Those pensions should have been fully funded from the beginning. Alas, too many pensions, both public and private, are dependant upon bizarre "future earnings" calculations.

My state's employee pension projects 8% return on investment!!! That's an insider-trading level of return on markets they have no control over. This is also in the face of less than 8% return for decades now. The 8% itself is unrealistic and for every year ROI is under 8% a subsequent year has to make-up the difference. They are doing nothing but spinning false promises for people who will be planning the sizes of their home purchases, etc on fanciful numbers. Thank God I'm not a state employee. The practice ought to be outlawed.