How much is our word worth?
That’s about to become a key question in states across America. And the answer, to the chagrin of millions of retirees, might be “not much.”
At issue is public employee pensions. They are strangling the country, state-by-state, city-by-city, and town-by-town. Americans just ate the biggest meal in history, and we can’t pay the tip.
Now we are hearing of a possible solution, an age-old fall back for governments and businesses: If we don’t have the money, just renege on our promises. (“We know we agreed to give you x, y, and z; and u, v, and w; and q, r, and s, but we simply don’t have the cash.”)
State capitols are abuzz with the idea that this may be possible. It’s the magic bullet over-promising elected officials have been searching for. And when lawmakers are looking for a legal out, one can pretty much guarantee they’ll find it.
As appealing as this might sound to those of us sick of public pension abuses, is this really the answer? Didn’t we give our word?
There’s got to be a better way to do this.
Maybe it’s time to bring in Ten Bears (Outlaw Jose Wales refresher below.)
This is a fantastic scene. One of the best. When is the last time a political figure kept his or her word about not running for office again? Maybe Teddy Roosevelt? Also one of the most intelligent portrayals of Native Americans.