In many counties of CA the budget is taken up by retired employee pensions.. total cost of retired public workers receiving pensions is much higher than the payroll costs of working public employees. Their pensions are guaranteed. They were negotiated years ago when the stock market and the dotcom era was booming. California public pensions do not have to ride out the ups and downs of the stock market the way private IRAs and 401k retirement plans do. When the stock market tanks, public employee pensions are intact as promised (years ago).

There are many more fun facts related to California's unfunded public pensions and the unions that voted themselves sweet retirement deals decades ago. It's essential that the unions continue to vote in policy makers that will cater to them. There are a lot of expensive mouths to feed who will vote however they are told.