Unfunded: Pension Debt Could Sink City

Local governments may have to report billions in extra debt: LINK TO STORY. This is a very important story for Riptide readers to contemplate. As of 2007, Pacifica's unfunded employee pension liability was approximately $18 million. The city attempted to sell Pension Obligation Bonds to shovel the debt into the long-term books, but the bond market had collapsed in fall 2008, so the city abandoned the effort. If GASB changes the rules in the way described in the story (click link above), Pacifica's current fiscal crisis will look like a tea party, and I don't mean the right-wing variety. Also, check out Ellen Brown's book THE WEB OF DEBT

LIONEL EMDE, RIPTIDE CORRESPONDENT