San Francisco is worried about how it’s going to pay the $4.9 billion health care tab for its retiring employees.

“As this number keeps growing … it can cripple our budget,” said Supervisor Sean Elsbernd. “This will eat up all our discretionary income, the money we use for street repairs, parks and programs for the people of San Francisco.”

The city currently covers the annual health care costs for retired workers on a pay-as-you-go basis. The amount is expected to reach $150 million this fiscal year out of the same general fund that finances police and other municipal services.

Here’s a thought: stop enacting so much damn legislation. Your city ordinances banning declawing of cats and feeding wild parrots, proposals to ban smoking everywhere except single-family homes, and that whole thing outlawing plastic shopping bags all require employees to cite the violations, employees to process the violations, and employees to fine the violations. Not to mention more employees to process the fines, and still more employees to oversee those citing, processing, and fining.

See, that’s the dark side of the Nanny government you operate. You found ways to intrude into all sorts of things that have nothing to do with civic government, so you had to hire the people to maintain the power that you usurped for yourself. Now you’ve got to pay those people off, and you’ll keep paying, too.

Why? Because now all sorts of people who don’t want to have to think or care for themselves are flocking there, and you’ll be picking up the tab for them, too.

On a positive note: it can’t be that much longer before your city falls into the ocean, so maybe you won’t have to pay those debts you racked up after all.

UPDATE: Linked to the OTB Traffic Jam.