CA politicians talk a lot about national issues
But not so much about state-, county- or city-wide fiscal realities. For good reason. Peter Verbica explains.
California carries north of $265 billion in unfunded pension debt across CalPERS and CalSTRS alone.
Add retiree health care, deferred infrastructure, and local government shortfalls, and credible estimates put the state's total liability well past $1 trillion.
That is a structural hole no state tax increase can plausibly fill, because the people who'd pay it have a moving van and an accountant.
The same instinct shows up in miniature at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority: decades of public money absorbed, chronic operating deficits, a light-rail network many residents avoid — while records show senior staff and specialized roles drawing total compensation that dwarfs the median household income of the county funding it.
VTA isn't an outlier. It's the operating model: extract, underperform, insulate the decision-makers from the decisions.--Peter Verbica is a candidate for US Congress, CA 19
Read the whole thing here.
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