Public Sector Pension Pig-Out

Published May 26, 2010 4:00am ET



Government employees across American get outrageously generous pensions paid for by taxpayers. Here’s one of them.

Who’s pigging out: James Enochs

Ingredients for the pig-out: Enochs is a former superintendent of schools in Modesto City, Calif.

How big is this pig-out? $285,460 every year

Average annual private-sector retirement income: $31,757

Who pays for this pension pig-out?: The taxpayers of California

How can this happen?: Public employee pensions in California are so generous the state now has a $535 billion unfunded future liability, equal to $36,000 for every household in the state. That’s more than the gross national product of Sweden, Switzerland or Saudi Arabia. California is not unique; have you checked your state’s public employee pensions lately?

Compiled by Examiner researcher Joel S. Gehrke Jr.