California, and my home town in the news.

First, Jerry says he till has pension reform on his agenda, Dan Waters calls Horse Manure (politely).

Then we have Fresno, which avoided bankruptcy. How did we do that?

At a time when some are calling soaring state and local government pension debt a crisis, there is a notable outlier. The Fresno city pension system has been fully funded for at least a decade and last year projected a $289 million surplus.
The main reason Fresno pensions have remained fully funded: The city’s public employee unions have accepted comparatively low retirement benefits, a particularly important concession by the police and firefighters who are a big part of the budget.
When another Central Valley city, Stockton, declared bankruptcy four years ago city officials said they would not cut the largest debt, a $211 million pension “unfunded liability,” because attractive retirement benefits are needed to remain competitive in the job market.
Stockton’s decision to cut only bond debt, despite a federal judge’s landmark ruling that CalPERS pension debt also can be cut in bankruptcy, was contested by two national bond insurers and a major bondholder, Franklin.
Not having a large pension debt to pay off helped Fresno cope with budget deficits during the recession. Speaking to the Bond Buyer last August, Mayor Ashley Swearengin recalled Time magazine mentioning Fresno as a possible bankruptcy.
Swearengin

The key is to elect a hot looking mayor, a babaroonie!  Just don't let president Trump near, he will grab her goodies.