By Truong Bui, includes "The debate on the 'California Rule' often centers around the legal interpretation of the rule (i.e., how pension benefits are/should be contractually protected). ... Putting aside the interpretation issue, the fact that public unions and many politicians have tried so hard to defend the strictest version of the California Rule does not seem to make sense from the economic point of view. ... aggressive accounting techniques allow governments to promise generous pensions without funding them adequately. This in turn allows governments to boost total compensation without raising taxes in the present. Of course, this practice simply shifts the costs to future taxpayers."