(Syndicated to Kansas newspapers Dec. 9, 2013)
Did your mother ever put a little slip of paper next to your plate to show you just what that sandwich cost?
Whew. Hope not.
But that’s essentially what the Governmental Accounting Standards Board has done for local units of government nationwide, and, for us Statehouse habitués, Kansas.
The rule? That local units of government—and school districts—that use generally accepted accounting principles will record in their financial reports the amount of money the state spends on their workers’ pensions and designate it as a liability. They don’t have to pay for it, just list it. Right there in public.