By Randall Forsyth, includes “… Talking about public pension funds and assumed rates of return is a surefire way to get listeners to practice social distancing from you. … Ideas like the Calpers’ plan can’t solve the public pension problem but may mitigate it somewhat. In the most optimistic scenario, leverage puts the current ultralow interest rates in the plan’s favor by boosting returns.  … Inflation then might be our best hope to solve the pension crisis. But, as has been often pointed out, hope is not a strategy.”