Bondholders Vs Pensioners -- Not a Bakken Story

I find this particular story very interesting, concerning the promises to bondholders and retired policemen, firemen, and teachers in a city that has declared bankruptcy. I find it interesting in light of the General Motors bailout / government takeover, and the recent recall elections in Wisconsin over teachers' health care benefits.

Although there are hints of some bias in the story, it seems to be quite balanced, and like The Times in general, very well written.

I remember years ago when I first served overseas with the military, the Department of Defense teachers obtained their medical care through the US military. They were charged a nominal fee for this benefit. At least in my mind it was nominal, considering the options on the economy, especially in such places as Turkey. Most teachers were young, healthy, and were able to receive routine medical care back in the states during summer recesses. The union leaders, for some unknown reason, suggested that the teachers would get a better deal going with a private insurer instead of with the military health care system. In so doing, their salaries would be raised (slightly in my mind), by the amount that was being taken out to pay for military health care. Obviously many of the younger, healthy teachers went without coverage altogether.

I remember some years later, the teachers union arguing with the federal government that overseas DOD teachers should be able to access military health care facilities for emergency and urgent health care needs. I don't recall how it all ended but I do believe the DOD agreed to cover emergency care; the problem, of course, then became defining emergency care.

This, of course, takes me back to the story linked above when the writers note that the city unions made a conscious decision decades ago to have pensions backed by the local government rather than by the federal government (social security).

There are no easy answers, and my hunch is it will not get any easier going forward.