"It is no coincidence that the worst funded public pension systems (NJ, IL, CT, PR) all tried the [pension obligation bond (POB)] gambit not because it made any fiscal sense but because they chose not to look at immediately unpleasant alternatives (i.e. cutting benefits or affording honest contribution amounts). The POB money suddenly appeared in trust assets making the plans seem better funded which would theoretically reduce future contributions. In practice, in New Jersey at least, future contributions were reduced anyway as politicians simply chose to pick their contribution numbers with expediency as the primary determinate."

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