The Hill News

Many Americans are familiar with the tale of The Emperor’s New Clothes. In Hans Christian Andersen’s story, an emperor’s weavers fashion him a garment made of fine fabric and tell him that it is invisible only to those who are unfit to be emperor. Though he cannot see the suit, the emperor wants to be considered worthy of his job, and so puts on the invisible garment and parades through town. It is not until a child calls out “the emperor has no clothes” that the emperor realizes he has been fooled.             

Several states could learn from Andersen’s tale of foolishness and folly. Much like the weavers in this story, many states have promised their public employees the finest pension benefits but have funded their pension obligations with invisible money. 

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