The huge distortions in this editorial make it even harder to find solutions. With a headline like "Oregon Swallowed by PERS Costs," the image and the emotion the foregone conclusion have been set. All that follows is "grim picture," PERS is "squeezing everything," "insatiable appetite," "swallowed" (again), and so on.  The "unfunded liability" meme is again trotted out without explanation. At 71% funded, PERS is below the 80% above which the system is "healthy." Variations within 20% above and below are not a threat. 

I am not saying that the costs of PERS are not real. Economic growth has slowed globally, and governments and organizations around the world are having to adapt. Retirement systems, as we have seen, are especially vulnerable. There is a lot of money in old folks' accounts, and unions and companies and governments have all, at times, been successful in breaking in and taking it for their own purposes. But it belongs legally to the old folks.  Now let's solve problems.