So you weren't able to find any more current numbers either and you would rather use that Pew study that was published prior to the financial collapse. That's fine.

Bear in mind the article came from a Milwaukee newspaper and was published 6+ months before the election. I did read the entire article and I saw the communications director for the fund management painted a rosy outlook. That's also fine and I can only surmise they had their assets invested in things other states did not. Or perhaps they had those funds under the mattresses of those responsible for their well being. They might have invested in precious metals and are now, like others, wondering if now is a good time to sell. Within that article was this study from Boston College:

"The financial crisis reduced the value of equities in state and local defined benefit pensions and hurt the funding status of these plans. The impact will become evident only over time, however, because actuaries in the public sector tend to smooth both gains and losses, typically over a five–year period. The first year for which the crisis will have a meaningful impact on reported funding status is fiscal 2009, since in most cases the fiscal 2008 books were closed before the market collapsed. After 2009, the funding picture will continue to deteriorate to the extent that years of low equity values replace earlier years of high values. The current and future funding status of state and local pensions is crucially important, as state and local governments are facing a perfect storm: the decline in funding has occurred just as the recession has cut into state and local tax revenues and increased the demand for government services. Finding additional funds to make up for market losses will be extremely difficult..."

For the full paper in PDF go back to that link, read it and tell me what you think.

Whatever. I do know CALPERS last month lost 55 million on a real estate venture and CA is anywhere from 250-500 billion in the hole long-term. I'm happy to hear WI is doing so much better and I'm shocked that any politician would lie about that.

All partisanship aside, let's conclude this was all the fault of Shrub and now the damage has to be repaired. What comes next? In order for the retirement systems to get back to pre-collapse levels there would have to be a massive infusion of capital and an economy that will return 8-12% on investments. It's hard for me to imagine that's going to happen anytime soon.

What happens short-term in WI? I'd be willing to bet that money is the chief concern of both the unions and the Obama administration. WI is a swing state that he needs to win in '12. If the R's in WI prevail,collective bargaining is no longer allowed. There will also no longer be a requirement that union members pay dues and the unions have to get those. Why would union members be willing to pay dues if the unions are no longer able to help them? That means there won't be a lot of campaign money for Obama unless states like CA that will vote for him send their union money.

Three other states are in the midst of this type of public pension reform and things aren't looking good. I could be way off base in my thinking (it's not unusual) and I'll gladly discuss this further. Just try to do it in a rational manner without any name calling and accusations of diminished mental capacity...