As a Dem. I hate to admit it but Jeffrey A. Keating is partially correct. The tipping point came when NEIL ABERCROMBIE tried to fix the PENSION shortfall by doing the right thing in  taxing high-end pensions-above $75k per family ( a generous exemption and was willing to lift the exemption higher). He was smeared by his own party,  failed and lost the Governorship because of it. 
I met a guy who draws a $400k out of state pension and says, "I SHOULD BE TAXED". Instead he pays nothing in Hawaii income tax and his retirement is needlessly subsidized by everyone else, mostly those who will NEVER SEE A PENSION themselves. Wrong! Meanwhile, our Pension debt obligations grow and our taxes are some of the most REGRESSIVE in the nation.