By Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner, includes “No matter what politicians claim, the budget is not balanced. Lawmakers will claim the 2022 budget is balanced, but that’s just not true. Correct pension costs – based on the pension funds’ actuarial reports – would add another $4 billion in expenses to the budget, while retiree health insurance costs would add about $2 billion more. It’s this kind of failed accounting that’s led to the massive retirement debt build up over the past three decades.”