THE LONG AWAITED PENSION REFORM PACKAGE has been introduced and we should begin by giving credit where credit is due. It arrived on schedule. Treasurer Gina Raimondo promised to deliver it in October, and she did.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY looks like a train wreck early on in this process. But that is to be expected. You can’t expect legislators to simply lie down and pass the package as delivered.  But soon enough they will figure out that they are not smarter than the actuaries and the numbers are real. $7.3 billion in unfunded liability on the state side of the pension equation is an undeniable crisis.

THE UNION LEADERSHIP is going through the motions in protest. Today we learned that the NEARI president is promoting a rally for next week.  Again, part of the script.

TOO OLD TO TEACH AT 67? That’s one of the big arguments the NEARI is putting out. Before we dismiss the claim on its face there are some things to think about. First, what is the actual savings in total dollars when veteran teachers are hanging around at the highest steps of compensation. That’s the calculation that we haven’t seen.

AND COLA’S?  Waiting up to 19 years for a raise on your retirement is a blow to retirees, no doubt. Somehow the potential of the awful alternative of benefit cuts hasn’t sunk into the employee conscious. Or has it? Perhaps there is some relief amongst state employees hiding behind union leaders who just go through the motions.

SO FAR MUNICIPAL COLA’S ARE SAFE. And the irony is interesting. Soon the jealousy will surface between state/teachers and then local retirees since one group loses their COLA and another (so far) doesn’t. More ironic is the truth in numbers. The local budgets in places like Providence, Warwick and Cranston are in much greater COLA stress . They are heading for the same bankruptcy as Central Falls any minute now without COLA relief.

THE OTHER HUNDRED POUND GORRILLA is the OPEB. This acronym means “Other Post Employment Benefits”. Check this out. While the total unfunded pension liability for the cities and towns is $2.1 billion (in addition to the state’s $7.3 billion), the unfunded liability for the cities and towns OPEB is $3.5 billion. And you think Central Falls is the only place headed for bankruptcy?

MEANWHILE CENTRAL FALLS RECEIVER Robert Flanders has called out a list of disability retirees for review. Here we go. Could be the start of the biggest statewide scam investigation in history. Should the attorney general (fat chance) or the feds ever wake up and step in here, the scenario will make the Plunderdome trial look like child’s play.

WATCH THE POLITICS AT PLAY in the state GOP. Another battle over open or closed primaries is brewing. There's plenty at stake in the first congressional district. A closed primary hurts Brendan Doherty against conservative favorite John Loughlin.

OH, BY THE WAY, THEY GOT GHADDAFI. Two questions: One, who are “they”? And two, how many different ways can you say or spell the deceased’s name?

NEVER THOUGHT I’D SEE BEER being so controversial in baseball. The Red Sox soap opera now has me thinking that in addition to DUI we will have PUI.

DID ANYBODY NOT THINK THAT TOM BRADY would march the team down for a win last week?

WHILE I’M GUESSING THE WORLD SERIES RATINGS will be way down because of the markets involved, the first two games have been classic games. So I lied. I am watching.

Have a great weekend!