California faces escalating pension debt crisis

California is facing a growing pension debt problem that lawmakers have largely ignored. The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is currently funded at only 72%. This means it lacks enough money to meet all the pension promises made to state and local employees. Recent drops in the stock market are raising alarms among policy makers. For instance, San Diego's pension board approved a record $533 million payment, which is $44 million more than last year. This comes at a time when the city is already dealing with a $250 million budget shortfall. Analysts warn that if the stock market continues to decline, California cities could be forced to find billions more to cover these costs. San Diego, for example, recently increased pay for government workers, which could worsen the situation. This pattern recalls past mistakes when cities raised pay and pension benefits during good economic times, only to struggle during downturns. In the past, there were attempts to reform pensions to reduce liabilities, but many reforms were overturned by union-friendly state agencies and courts. While former Governor Jerry Brown introduced some changes in 2013, the issue continues to grow. Current legislative bodies seem unwilling to confront the situation. A recent report highlighted serious pension liabilities in several cities, with San Jose facing $4 billion and San Francisco $7 billion. Overall, California's total unfunded pension liabilities have reached around $250 billion. As the financial pressure mounts, it may become increasingly difficult for lawmakers to ignore this pressing issue.