"Most people don't read footnotes"

Dan Weintraub writes that as accounting rules change, public knowledge and interest in future health care liabilities for retired public employees is rising. The state's tab alone is estimated at over $40 billion. He explores the expample of Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, where the 44,000 resident town owes over $50 million in health care benefits alone. To cover the gap, the city would need to spend about $4.6 million/yr out of a budget of less than $30 million. Full column

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The LA Times details how retiree healthcare benefits are being cut back, and premiums raised, as prices high (according to a Kaiser Foundation, study, the increase was as much as 10.4% from 04 to 05). Full story