Ten months ago, Gov. Jerry Brown proclaimed California’s public employee pension system to be “unsustainable” and proposed a very mild, 12-point reform plan.
This week, he embraced a much-weaker version drafted in secrecy by the Legislature’s Democratic leaders, who insisted that it is “a strong proposal” (Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg) and “comprehensive” (Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez).
Brown was only slightly less effusive, calling it a “significant step forward” that will “help to ensure that our public retirement system is sustainable for the long term.”