Leftfield

California Legislators Got Drunk on Stock Market Gains

You mention the addition of "80,000 government employees is not the major problem as long as we reform their benefits." Glad you're onto the amazing benefits they have and that you support fewer benefits.
Any deferred benefits are paid after the next election, so politicians routinely promise the moon in benefits. If the public saw all that cost as straight. upfront salary, government employees went on the market to purchase those benefits and belonged to SS, the public would wake up to the extraordinary expense of these people. And, government employees would finally be a force to actually reform healthcare and SS.
Litigation and settlement costs of modifying government contracts may yield to reality over time as even judges may come to see the impossibility of the promises made.
Special mention to Meg Whitman: She ran Ebay without any distinction whatsoever except that her successor, John Donohoe is far worse. She overpaid hugely for Skype. Ebay was, I believe, the most successful IPO ever, and she ran it during it's headiest growth era. Hard to mess that up. Paypal was a fine acquisition, but execution was appalling in it's earlier days. I could have run that company better.