Someone please call the police

Protecting private property rights is very important.

I bring that up because someone who clearly doesn't belong in the Louisville Courier Journal's editorial department has broken into the building, hacked into one of the computers, and has written an utterly sensible op-ed about pension reform in Kentucky.

"But it's Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, that taxpayers should really thank. First, he called attention to the need for reform; then he kept the heat on the House and two governors to act. For three years, he warned that the system was "unsustainable," as he must have said a thousand (maybe 10,000) times. The state's "inviolable contract" with retirees and government employees had the potential to swallow up funds for everything from education to police protection, proving that although pension benefits are not a sexy issue, they're an important one.

So is the work done now? Not even close. The system is better off, but still unsustainable.

The next steps must be to deal more realistically with the health care benefits offered, and to change retirement packages so they "more closely reflect what is available in the private sector," as Sen. Williams said last week. He predicts that when the national effort to get real about government pensions is complete, part of every public-employee pension plan will include 401(k)-type savings. He's right, but so far the Democrats have been unable to face up to that."

Seriously, I'm in favor of a good written attempt to save the state from utter destruction at the hands of its craven politicians, but burglary is wrong. Give them their building back.