Pay me now ... and pay me later.

State public pension programs have been seriously weakened during the first decade of the 21st century. According to a Pew Center on the States report, half of the states had fully funded pension programs in 2000. By 2008, only four could make that claim: Florida, Wisconsin, New York and Washington.

In Kansas and Illinois, the situation is the worst. Of course, Illinois is broke. And if you're a vendor who's done business with The Prairie State in recent years, you know that.