Expert-on-everything Chris Briem has a reminder on why Pittsburghers should be paying attention to the city pension woes -- it not only affects simple things like parking Downtown, but long-term pipe dreams goals like city-county consolidation:

Is not the state of the city's pension system the single biggest policy issue impacting the city of Pittsburgh now and into the future? Not just the size of the liability, but it's intractability that makes it issue #1. Nowadays it is driving the entire effort to monetize all of the parking assets currently owned by the Pittsburgh Parking Authority.  Impacts go beyond the city of course.  Just one example:  Legacy costs facing the city of Pittbsurgh may be the single biggest thing in the way of further city county consolidation and a host of other things that can't be addressed as long as there is a billion dollar elephant in the room.  I say it all ties together.