Pension shock

If you want to understand why California's pension problems are getting so out of hand, look no further than these numbers, courtesy of the OC Register:

In 2006, 1,700 retired state workers (excluding judges) were receiving an annual pension of at least $100,000.

Last year: 4,878.

Currently: 7,832.

From the Register's OC Watchdog:

But how, precisely, did pension costs come to escalate so quickly and dramatically? Orange County deserves much of the blame -- or credit, depending on your point of view -- for that. In 1999, the state Legislature was swimming in money. So it decided to spread the wealth and hike tax-guaranteed pensions for state employees. In 2000, a follow-up bill by then-Assemblyman Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, gave municipal governments like cities and counties the same pension-boosting power. And then all hell broke loose, if you will.