Wait, let me understand this: First, Waring, Biggs, Novy-Marx, and crew say that a "risk free" rate should be used because of the certainty of payment of public pension payments. Yet, when proponents of the current discount method say that risk free rate financial theory doesn't apply because the pension funds have a long term horizon (in perpertuity) Waring points to Detroit and other bankrupt cities and says -not so.

Hmm--seems Waring, Biggs and crew have to abandon their risk free argument if they also want to argue that public entities can shed those pension obligations via bankruptcy.