Except the whole point of the article is that even if the State had put in the money it was supposed to, that wouldn't have kept up with the promises.

And also, you're whitewashing the role of public employees. Those "corrupt politicians" are Democrats who keep getting elected with the support of teachers', police, etc., unions. Chicago's pension holidays, for example, resulted in that money going to CPS directly, to support higher salaries and the "pension pickup" (where the school district covered most of teachers' required pension contributions).