Trump’s State Pension Gift – Wall Street Journal

"First, the good news.... That’s a whopping 16% drop over three years. Now the bad news—at least for blue-state taxpayers.... Five states last year still boasted long-term liability burdens above 20% of personal income, a level that Fitch gently calls “elevated”: Illinois (27%), Connecticut (25.9%), New Jersey (21.4%), Hawaii (20.7%) and Alaska (20.3%).... The pandemic will put more of a squeeze on state worker pensions by reducing the tax base to pay for them and perhaps also lowering fund investment returns. But faster economic growth makes pension obligations more manageable, and worker pensions will be stronger in states that reopened sooner and don’t harm their economies more by raising taxes. Voters in Illinois should keep that in mind Tuesday when they vote on a referendum to establish a progressive income tax."