People who consent to be governed retain the right to see they are not taken in by that government.

When government employs people, we can demand to know how much salt they are being paid, and to judge for ourselves if they are "worth their salt."

All the salt — even that split off and paid later as a "retirement pension" — is and ought to be public knowledge.

Courts have held that secondary beneficiaries of pensions need not be identified, but the value of the package is what is, and ought to be, public, not the beneficiary. The State Senate is considering legislation to clarify the difference. Good. That is how it was meant to be.

Legislation, sponsored in the Assembly by Steve Englebright and in the Senate by Martin Golden, would restore public access to employee pension data. The Assembly passed the legislation unanimously. Now it is up to the Senate to act before its scheduled June 21 adjournment.