While businesses post record-breaking profits and consumer confidence grows, for public sectors, the late 2000s financial death spiral is still a violently spinning vortex. From sovereigns to local municipalities, governments labor under increasing financial pressure.
For local governments, that pressure derives in part from the “spend now, pay later” mentality that inevitably seeps into fiscal policies. The best example of that is unfunded pension liability, which is often the product of unfortunate collective bargaining agreements.
