Must-watch from 60 Minutes: 'The Day of Reckoning' coming for states' budgets
This is just an unbelievably good report on the budget problems numerous, if not most, states are facing.
Three things to conclude from the report above:
1. Budget deficits, like the one Nevada is facing, are not unique to Nevada.
2. Like the video above shows, these budget deficits are the result of unsustainable government spending. And state spending in Nevada has been increasing at an unsustainable level. The red line represents what state spending would have been if it had only grown at the rate of inflation and population growth.
3. In order to correct years (and for some states, decades) of unsustainable spending, government spending must be decreased and pension liabilities eliminated. To prevent future problems states should convert state defined-benefit plans to defined-contribution plans.
If you think this is an important issue, I urge you to share this 60 Minutes story with your sphere of influence. "The Day of Reckoning" is coming, but Nevada's response is yet to be determined.
Programming note: Blogging will be light to non-existent until Monday. Happy Holidays!
