Editors Note: It remains an article of faith among public sector union defenders of defined benefit pensions – as they are – that “the market’s just taken a little beating,” and “the long-term outlook does not merit a crisis mentality.” Even pension fund managers, such as City of San Jose’s Police and Fire Retirement Plan...

This week both of California’s largest government employee pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS, released their portfolio earnings numbers for the most recent twelve months. In a statement released on January 24th, “CalSTRS Calendar Year-End Investment Returns Show Slight Gains,” CalSTRS disclosed “Investment returns for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) ended the 2011 calendar...