My View: PERS pension debt clouds Oregon's fiscal future

State Treasurer candidate Chris Telfer.

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A recent opinion piece carried by Pamplin Media about public employee pensions ("Ballot measures would worsen PERS problems") misrepresents the purpose and effects of Oregon pension reform initiatives that our coalition may ask voters to consider in the November 2020 election.

There's no question that the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System's (PERS) $26 billion unfunded pension liability is draining public budgets — forcing layoffs of teachers even when school budgets are rising, raising tuition for students attending Oregon colleges and universities, and forcing local governments to cut essential services like police and fire.