Democrats’ Irresponsible Pension-Funding Bet In Maryland

From The Washington Post

Editorial Board - "The Democrats’ hypocrisy is thick, and their arguments are thin."__________________________________________________________________________________

The Washington PostEditorial BoardMay 25, 2015

“FOUR YEARS ago, lawmakers in Annapolis struck a deal to undergird Maryland’s perilously indebted pension fund. ...

“Last year lawmakers failed to honor the deal, slashing the state’s contribution in half. This year they did it again, whacking the catch-up payment to just $75 million for the fiscal year starting in July.

“Yet when Gov. Larry Hogan (R) put his foot down, insisting on a $150 million payment — still just half the amount approved in 2011 — Democrats in the legislature painted him as a bogeyman and refused to go along.

“The Democrats’ hypocrisy is thick, and their arguments are thin. They rest mainly on the supposition that the $45 billion pension fund is already well on its way to recovery and that everyone should just relax if cash is diverted from it to other needs. …

“Mr. Hogan went along with the Democrats’ priorities, up to a point. He allowed a 2 percent raise for state employees, and he released funds for pregnant women and other public health programs. He drew the line at $68 million earmarked by lawmakers to help public schools in high-cost parts of the state.

“The governor says he will refuse to spend that money in the coming fiscal year and then redirect most of it to the pension fund, along with surplus cash if it materializes. Democrats may try to block him from doing so; they insist they will stand on principle.

“What exactly is that principle? Their prerogative to burden a future generation of taxpayers with deferred debt in an amount the legislature’s own top analyst calls ‘eye-popping’? The right to take back a promise when pressed to do so by competing interests? If that’s principle, it’s frightening to imagine what political expediency looks like.”