A postscript to my column on state bankruptcy:

Vox, April 29:

And while pension funds are indeed a chronic challenge in some states, that’s not what’s going on right now. What’s happening right now is we’re in a pandemic.

“Trying to blame the current need for federal assistance on things like public pensions seems dishonest to me and is sort of laying the blame of where are right now at the feet of the wrong culprit. There are long-term issues that states are going to have to deal with, but now is not necessarily the time to do it,” Rueben said. “We need to put out the fire before we rebuild the house.”