WASHINGTON, D.C. — A lawyer and an economist disagreed about the immediacy of the financial crisis state governments face, but did give about 30 people gathered at a National Conference of State Legislatures session here one common message:
Start fixing pensions and retiree health benefits programs now. “Or else.”
“You always need an ‘or else’,” lawyer James Spiotto told those gathered for “Bankruptcy, Defaults, Debt, Pensions. Do States Need a Federal Rescue? “
He said the “or else” for states is not bankruptcy, but the power to “discharge contractual obligations if they prevent you from carrying out essential government services.”
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