They do what they’ve always done; Rob Peter to pay Paul and/or raise taxes. That sucks but anyone who blames a PERS employee for the problem obviously hasn’t been paying attention (or just needs someone to blame to feel better). As a PERS retiree I NEVER (in any way, shape or form) asked or bargained for my pension. It was “forced” on me in lieu of a pay raise after my municipality (which did not have a retirement program at that time) belatedly realized they could no longer hire or retain quality employees at the stagnant wages they were paying. So they deliberately chose (what was then) the “easy” way out, i.e.; it cost them 5.2% (upfront) to pay our retirement rather than 6% (upfront) for a pay raise. Then, in order to minimize risk, they put limits of how public entities could invest those funds. Restrictions the PERS program was not bound by, so PERS had the freedom to bet (and win) big (which they did). In essence, they (and a lot of other public entities) tried to cheap it and fucked up. Please don’t ask me to feel guilt or shame for the 46% of my final salary I’m taking home after 35 years of municipal service. That dog won’t hunt. And blaming the Democrats for a Republican FUBAR won’t either.......