By Dan Walters, includes “… CalPERS desperately needs an escape route and has chosen the perilous path of debt. It plans to borrow billions of dollars – as much as $80 billion – to fatten its investment portfolio in fingers-crossed hopes that earnings gains will outstrip borrowing costs. … This is serious stuff, so risky that the Legislature should dump its informal hands-off policy toward CalPERS and order up a comprehensive and independent examination of the system’s assets, liabilities and long-term prospects of meeting its pension obligations.”