The Legal and Ethical Implications of Public Pension Reform: Analyzing the New Constitutional Cases

Abstract

In this thought-provoking and well-researched article, the authors take up the public pension crisis as a case study in the legal and ethical responsibilities of government. Examining six years of litigation, they initially demonstrate—contrary to conventional wisdom—why the Contract Clause fails to provide a meaningful barrier to pension reform. The appraisal then offers a path forward: an ethical framework to be used by policymakers so that decisions are both morally right and politically defensible. The study's contribution to the literature lies in its interwoven discussion of landmark constitutional litigation and contemporary ethical theories applied in the government pension reform context. This interdisciplinary analysis is a first step toward re-thinking how state and local governments can (and should) be legally and morally accountable in this era of austerity.

Keywords: pensions, public pensions, public sector pensions, Contract Clause, constititutional litigation, ethics, Kant, Bentham, pension reform

JEL Classification: K10, K12, J18, J26, J45, J58