Greenhut - Bankruptcy may be only way out for cities, states

San Diego City Councilmember Carl DeMaio, who is also running for Mayor, has put forth a comprehensive pension reform (CPR) plan that may save San Diego from bankruptcy.  Below is Steven Greenhut's editorial on public employee pensions and the unprecedented resistance by Sacramento to deal with the problem.  Enjoy!

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(Steven Greenhut - Special Editorial for the Orange County Register)
SACRAMENTO – I recently documented how the state's pro-union attorney general, Kamala Harris, crafted an unfair and dishonest title and summary for a pair of pension reform ballot initiatives submitted to her office, effectively killing the measures.


Then, last week, the government employee unions tried – and almost succeeded – with an even nastier stunt designed to undermine democracy.

In San Diego, unions are fearful of a new pension reform measure supporters call Comprehensive Pension Reform, or CPR, which has qualified for the June ballot. Instead of simply gearing up to fight this political battle, the unions petitioned one of those ridiculous commissions that most Californians have never even heard of, the Public Employment Relations Board, which is unfriendly turf for taxpayers. The union contended that placing the initiative on the ballot amounted to an unfair labor practice, and PERB called for a court injunction to stop the election until it could complete its sham proceedings.


In essence, the unions and this unelected board insist that the people of San Diego have no right to vote on pension reform. This is just the latest reminder of the totalitarian tactics of a public-sector union movement that doesn't care about anything other than protecting its benefits.

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