Rhode Island pension fund going broke. UPDATE - Not any more.

Pension funding has become a nationwide crisis.  What's news about Rhode Island's pension fund heading for broke?
1.  Honest reporting in the New York Times.
2.  Recognition that 8.25%/annum isn't a guaranteed return on investment.  (How does 2.4% sound? See tenth paragraph in Times story.)

What's not news?
Framing the discussion with a threat that pensions won't be paid.

RI State Treasurer, Gina Raimondo
has introduced a reform plan
but it sounds like a patch not a fix.

The pension fund is not empty.  Policy and ill-advised but legal contracts are the problem.   Defined contribution plans are easier to sustain than defined benefit plans.  A 55-year-old fire-fighter whose pension "takes a haircut" would still get 60 to 80 cents on the dollar and be paid monthly.

A good review is posted at Walter Russell Mead's site.   His exposition of the "Decline of the Blue Social Model" prompted thoughtful commentary. Even he gives a false dichotomy:   "Ultimately, you will have to fire existing workers, stop paying pensions or a mix of both".  People who make a contract can later on make a different contract. The choice doesn't have to be between the miseries of bankruptcy and the miseries of the status quo.
UPDATE: Jan.5th  They got a handle on it. Existing as well as new employees held back and more.  She gets a prize.