[philk]

From the article:

roughly 80 cents of every government dollar in California goes to employee compensation and benefits

So that's salaries as well as pensions (and salaries will be making up the lions share of the 80%).

To quote Felix Dennis "Overhead walks on two legs".

[16s]

Employees are the biggest expense for any business, not just governments.

[larrywright]

This is true, but not 80%. This number is way, way out of whack.

[billswift]

Usually the biggest single expense, but not usually more than half of the total expenses.

[timepilot]

and healthcare benefits, etc