Unions Are Not Breaking State Budgets

McClatchy Newspapers hits hard against the misinformed Republican voter that thinks unions are the cause of state fiscal woes:

WASHINGTON — From state legislatures to Congress to tea party rallies, a vocal backlash is rising against what are perceived as too-generous retirement benefits for state and local government workers. However, that widespread perception doesn't match reality.

A close look at state and local pension plans across the nation, and a comparison of them to those in the private sector, reveals a more complicated story. However, the short answer is that there's simply no evidence that state pensions are the current burden to public finances that their critics claim.

I'm not sure I've seen a newspaper tackle an issue so figuratively. But it needed to be said. The whole thing should be repeated on every nightly newscast all over America.