Pensions: The Fiscal Black Hole

There are fiscal cliffs, then there are fiscal black holes. The difference? The cliff, you fall over just once. But a black hole increases its pull on you more and more each day. And that's a disturbingly accurate description of the problem now faced by Rhode Island and virtually every other state: the ever-growing challenge of underfunded pensions for government employees. Regardless of the fate of Rhode Island's pension overhaul as it winds its way through the courts, the problem isn't going away.

  full article

Recent By The Numbers Archives

The State, Local Job Decline - Steve Eide, Publicsectorinc.com

The private sector lost more jobs, more quickly, than the public sector since the beginning of the...

Corporate Tax Reform - James Pethokoukis, Enterprise Blog

What makes for a competitive, pro-market, pro-growth corporate tax code?

Household Income and Demographics - Mark Perry, Carpe Diem

Most of the discussion on income inequality focuses on the relative differences over time between...

The Demographics of Job Gains - Mike Shedlock, Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Note that 100% of the job growth since the recession is in a single age group.