tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53976045847686770692024-02-09T03:47:14.242+12:00Hogs at the TroughTracking the greed and excesses of the political classUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger394125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-36717708909300295342014-12-29T00:00:00.000+12:002014-12-29T00:00:03.687+12:00Public Pensions, Pension Reform, Tweets<a class="twitter-timeline" data-widget-id="544358083192188929" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=pension%20reform">Tweets about pension reform</a><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-30239852425996028322014-12-22T00:00:00.000+12:002014-12-22T00:00:05.436+12:00Pension Reform, Criticisms<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark" lang="en">
Almost all of the criticisms of our pension reform work reside in lowest 2 tiers of quality. <a href="https://twitter.com/amitabhchandra2">@amitabhchandra2</a> <a href="http://t.co/dFxrExzkPp">pic.twitter.com/dFxrExzkPp</a><br />
— John Arnold (@JohnArnoldFndtn) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnArnoldFndtn/status/544282764980150273">December 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-11138280181022229512014-12-15T00:00:00.000+12:002014-12-15T00:00:02.013+12:00Illinois, Public Pensions, Absurdity Judge rules that all benefits are forever, no matter the public cost--<br />
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<a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/illinoiss-pension-absurdity-1417219755" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Illinois’s Pension Absurdity - WSJ</a>: "... The fiscally delinquent state has accrued a $111 billion unfunded pension liability—a 75% increase from five years ago—in addition to $56 billion in debt for retiree health benefits. Incredibly, the state is spending more of its general fund on pensions than on K-12 education. One in four tax dollars pays for retirement benefits. Last year the state had to defer $7 billion in bills to contractors. This is after Democrats in 2011 raised income and corporate taxes by 67% and 30%, respectively. Little wonder that Illinois has the nation’s worst credit rating... Yet Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge John Belz... rejected all pension trims as a violation of the state Constitution... According to Judge Belz, there is “no legally cognizable affirmative defense” for impairing pensions benefit. Except, well, 80 years of U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Federal courts have established that states may invoke their police powers to impair contracts. In the 1934 case Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that emergencies “may justify the exercise of [the State’s] continuing and dominant protective power notwithstanding interference with contracts,” which the U.S. Constitution otherwise prohibits.... " (read more at the link above)<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-39204462780447715452014-12-08T00:00:00.000+12:002014-12-08T00:00:02.753+12:00Pensions make investing too complex<a href="http://fortune.com/2014/11/08/how-pensions-make-investing-too-complex/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How pensions make investing too complex</a>: <i>"Pricey consultants have convinced many pension funds to pile into private equity, real estate and hedge funds, which don’t necessarily promise higher returns or long-term investing.
KKR & Co., a private equity firm, has threatened to bar the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System from investing in KKR’s funds if the Iowa system complies with a public records request for information on what it is paying KKR in fees."</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-72840309212429922742014-12-01T00:00:00.000+12:002014-12-01T00:00:06.262+12:00Only 7 percent of employers offer new employees traditional pensions<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2014/09/05/nearly-a-quarter-of-fortune-500-companies-still-offer-pensions-to-new-hires/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nearly a quarter of Fortune 500 companies still offer pensions to new hires - The Washington Post</a>: "... Only 7 percent of employers studied offer new employees traditional pensions, which pay out a certain amount at retirement based on a worker’s pay and how long they stayed with a company. So where can you still get a job with a pension? The plans are more prevalent in some industries versus others. For instance, defined benefit plans are still offered by most large insurance and utility companies, according to Towers Watson. But the plans are nonexistent among aerospace, construction and tourism companies, which only offer defined contribution plans, such as a 401(k) plan...."<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-91637249331935159202014-11-24T00:00:00.000+12:002014-11-24T00:00:02.016+12:00China's Military, More Bang for the BuckIn China, as in most of the rest of the world, Less is More, a Lot More--the inconvenient Truth of the US Defense Budget is that Most of it is spent on Waste, Excess, Political Pork--<br />
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<a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-09-08/china-s-military-gets-more-bang-for-the-buck" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">China's Military Gets More Bang for the Buck - Bloomberg View</a>: <i>"... in recent years the military appears to have wasted huge amounts of money on programs of dubious value, like the <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/07/09/3458101/f35-boondoggle-fail/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">F-35 Lightning</a> jet fighter. That program has seen its costs balloon to $400 billion -- about 2.5 percent of one year of U.S. GDP -- and will undoubtedly see costs go much higher. But the plane still does not work. Nor is the F-35 particularly <a href="http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2014/April/Pages/LittoralCombatShipFacesUncertainFuture.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">unique</a>. Programs like the F-35 have provided Americans with jobs, but have often been of dubious value to our military while costs greatly exceed initial estimates. Meanwhile, new Chinese weapons systems continually <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2010/12/chinas-military-surprises/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">exceed</a> U.S. expectations...."</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-57333463189721583382014-11-17T00:00:00.000+12:002014-11-17T00:00:05.520+12:00California, Bankruptcy, Public Pensions, Nothing is SacrosanctIn the end, all the political "rigging" was for naught--<br />
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<a href="http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/judge-rules-that-bankruptcy-invalidates-calpers-lien-against-stockton-calif/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bankruptcy Judge in California Challenges Sanctity of Pensions - NYTimes.com</a>: <i>"A federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday upended the widely held belief that public workers’ pensions have a special status in California that makes them impossible to cut, further chipping away at the idea that pensions are sacrosanct in a municipal bankruptcy.
The ruling, which came during a hearing on a plan by the City of Stockton to exit bankruptcy, did not order the city to cut its pension plan or take any specific action. The judge said that he needed more time to reflect on Stockton’s situation and that he would decide Oct. 30 whether the city could emerge from its two-year bankruptcy or whether it still had more work to do.
But the decision, by Judge Christopher M. Klein of the Eastern District of California, dealt a blow to California’s giant state-led pension system, known as Calpers, which has been leading efforts to preserve defined-benefit pensions nationwide..."</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-24593580538476818292014-11-10T00:00:00.000+12:002014-11-10T00:00:02.898+12:0021st Century Death Chamber?<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/10/oklahoma-mcalester-new-death-chamber-botched-execution-lockett?CMP=ema_565" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The 21st century death chamber: $100,000 for a civilised execution | World news | theguardian.com</a>: <i>"State officials refused to discuss any aspect of the new execution protocols other than bare construction issues, on grounds that the matter was “being litigated”. When, for instance, the Guardian pointed to an entry among the renovation expenses listed as “electrode snap FM Wetgel 50s” and asked for a plain English translation, Crow replied: “That’s part of the protocol. I’m not at liberty to discuss that.”"</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-28202740815184861722014-11-03T00:00:00.000+12:002014-11-03T00:00:05.012+12:00Ireland, The Double Irish, Corporate Tax Inversions, Aversions or Avoidance?<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-14/ireland-phasing-out-tax-break-as-overseas-pressure-mounts.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ireland Phases Out Tax Break as Overseas Pressure Mounts - Bloomberg</a>: "... The “Double Irish,” which allows companies to avoid paying tax on much of their income, will be closed to new entrants from January, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said in parliament in Dublin today, as he laid out the 2015 budget. Companies already enjoying the tax break can continue to do so until 2020...."<br />
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<a href="http://ww2.cfo.com/tax/2014/08/aversion-inversions/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Aversion to Inversions</a>: "In the face of inaction on comprehensive reform, and fearing that the Obama administration might crack down on inversions, corporations may be rushing to complete them as a form of “‘self-help’ territorial taxation,” according to Philip Cohen, a tax professor at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business. “Companies are witnessing other companies engaging in transactions that get around [Section 7874 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986], often by merging with a smaller foreign target, and asking, ‘Why not consider it, given the upside?’” he says."<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-81431799987613972772014-10-27T00:00:00.000+12:002014-10-27T00:00:06.079+12:00States, Cities, Want to deplete your tax base? <a href="http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-florida-government-incentives-to-businesses-20140916-story.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Want to deplete your tax base? Give 'job creators' what they want - LA Times</a>: "....Virtually all of the published research on the subject shows that most economic development incentives are a senseless waste of taxpayer money. The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, for example, studied the issue and found that “instead of creating new jobs or spurring employment, the main effect of incentives is simply to deplete a community's tax base.” Poorer, less advantaged communities often take the biggest hit, being more likely to gamble public funds on the hope of new factory jobs. My own analysis found no connection between incentive dollars spent per capita and such measures of economic success as wages, incomes, human capital levels or unemployment.
It's time to put an end to incentive madness once and for all."--<i>Richard Florida, director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto, a global research professor at New York University and senior editor at the Atlantic, where he co-founded CityLab.</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-31546817209213102182014-10-20T17:38:00.000+12:002014-10-20T17:38:36.469+12:00John Oliver, Civil Asset Forfeiture (video)<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks">Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Civil Forfeiture (HBO) - YouTube</a>: "<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3kEpZWGgJks?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br />
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Did you know police can just take your stuff if they suspect it's involved in a crime? They can!<br />
It’s a shady process called “civil asset forfeiture,” and it would make for a weird episode of Law and Order. Published on Oct 5, 2014<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-77906678622473070232014-10-13T00:00:00.000+12:002014-10-13T00:00:07.147+12:00Crony Capitalism, Deep Roots<a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/crony-capitalism-has-deep-roots_804847.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Crony Capitalism Has Deep Roots | The Weekly Standard</a>: "... House Republicans last week acceded to an extension of the Export-Import Bank for at least the next nine months. The Export-Import Bank is far from the worst example of government-business cronyism. I just completed a history of American political corruption and actually had to leave Ex-Im on the cutting room floor. Its cronies are pikers compared with the corporate moguls that take advantage of tax preferences like the G.E. and Apple loopholes. They also cannot hold a candle to the American Medical Association, which is basically free to write the reimbursement rates for Medicare Part B. And nothing compares to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from 1991-2008. The two mortgage giants kept the entire D.C. political class bent over a barrel for almost 20 years as its top executives reaped enormous bonuses while putting the broader economy at risk...."<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-56172549865329732342014-10-06T00:00:00.000+12:002014-10-06T00:00:04.836+12:00Fixing Local Government, The Fed, New Rules <i>[T]he Federal Reserve, along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, just changed the liquidity requirements for the nation’s largest banks. Municipal bonds, long considered safe liquid investments, have been eliminated from the list of high-quality liquid collateral. assets (HQLA). That means banks that are the largest holders of munis are liable to start dumping them in favor of the Treasuries and corporate bonds that do satisfy the requirement. (source infra)</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/09/preparing-asset-strip-local-government-feds-bizarre-new-rules.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Local Government and The Fed’s New Rules Washington's Blog</a>: <br />
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<i>"In the US, there is already a trend to force state and municipal governments into austerity measures, if not outright bankruptcy, in order to eliminate labor unions, pension obligations and social services. Bankruptcies can be involuntary, forced by the creditors who caused them. <a href="http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/06/10/bank-j10.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Detroit is the US model</a>. Michigan’s Constitution protects pensions, so the emergency manager appointed by the governor could not unilaterally cut those funds. But in a municipal bankruptcy, a judge would decide the fate of city workers’ pensions, making it an attractive option for banking interests."</i><br />
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The era of theft of the public treasury and politicians' promises they can't pay? It may be over for Hogs at the Trough.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-72529327081326767022014-09-29T12:41:00.002+12:002014-09-29T12:42:47.587+12:00Civil Forfeiture, Legalized Theft by Aggressive Police in the US<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark" lang="en">
Aggressive policing has led to seizure of hundreds of millions of dollars from people not charged with crimes <a href="http://t.co/GjLIwSBELx">http://t.co/GjLIwSBELx</a><br />
— HogsAtTheTrough (@hogsatthetrough) <a href="https://twitter.com/hogsatthetrough/status/516386302627807234">September 29, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Read more: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/09/06/stop-and-seize/">Aggressive police take hundreds of millions of dollars from motorists not charged with crimes | The Washington Post</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-67497630764964950062014-09-22T00:00:00.000+12:002014-09-22T00:00:04.602+12:00How Detroit Went South<i>Judge Steven Rhodes soon will issue a ruling on Detroit’s bankruptcy plan. However he rules, it is a safe bet that history’s verdict will be much harsher: Detroit’s leaders are guilty of murder in the first degree of a once-great American city.— Kevin D. Williamson (source infra)</i><br />
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".... So we have: a city council too short-sighted and beef-witted to understand what it was doing, a mayor who was an outright criminal, union bosses who never asked where the money was going to come from and union members who simply cashed the checks and never held their leaders to account, banks and financial firms that were happy to bet that they’d be comfortably seated when the music stopped, and lawyers and a court system happy to ignore the fact that the bankruptcy deals being worked out in Detroit are exactly as corrupt and destructive as the policies that put the city into bankruptcy in the first place. And a pox on the people of Detroit, too: They keep voting for this, over and over..." (source: <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/node/386875/print" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">National Review</a>)<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-84091286396154333022014-09-15T00:00:00.000+12:002014-09-15T00:00:02.087+12:00DC Per Capita Income, Hogs at the Trough<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/53ebc4256bb3f76a1d056f58-800-600/fredgraph%20(29).png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/53ebc4256bb3f76a1d056f58-800-600/fredgraph%20(29).png" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dc-per-capita-income-2014-8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DC Per Capita Income - Business Insider</a>: <i>"It shows the ratio of Per Capita Personal Income In Washington DC vs Per Capita Personal Income in the entire country. As you can see, the two decades from the 1990 to 2010 were amazing years for DC, as the ratio surged from just over 1.2x to 1.8x. Good times."</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-56673275914023830462014-09-08T00:00:00.000+12:002014-09-08T00:00:05.080+12:00Aramark Correctional Services, Maggot epidemic, US prison food<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOoU4witMZI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maggot epidemic in US prison food - </a><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/BOoU4witMZI?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br />
Aramark Correctional Services recently scored over $250 million in lucrative government contracts to feed prisoners in the states of Ohio and Michigan. In the few short months of Aramark's government service, both states have repeatedly fined the company for having maggots on their food service or prep lines, occasions of employees being drunk, harassing, and even kissing prisoners - the list of infractions is long. With so much money on the line, you'd think government contractors would all be the best in their field. Too often, it seems like the opposite is true. The Resident discusses. Published on Aug 12, 2014<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-78404439928289293752014-09-01T00:00:00.000+12:002014-09-01T00:00:05.293+12:00Public Pensions, Doing the Right Thing<a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-08-12/doing-the-right-thing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Doing the Right Thing - Bloomberg View</a>: <i>"... In 2013, San Diego County spent $103.7 million in investment and administrative fees. It is one of the highest-cost pension funds in the entire country.
To review: A pension plan is failing to save enough to meet its retirement obligations, and rather than save more, it ramps up leverage.
I am not fond of forecasts, so instead, I will offer one of two likely outcomes: <b>Eventually, San Diego County’s pension fund blows up. </b>The losses are spectacular, and the county' taxpayers are saddled with billions in new tax obligations. <b>Alternatively</b>, the townsfolk figure out how much risk is being put on their shoulders, and fires everyone involved, from the pension board to the advisers to anyone who voted for these shenanigans.
I have seen this movie before. I know how it ends."</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-17465721243140813732014-08-25T00:00:00.000+12:002014-08-25T00:00:01.918+12:00South Florida, Viral ID Theft, Tax Fraud<a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/07/31/4265478/irs-commissioner-visits-miami.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IRS commissioner visits Miami to spotlight viral ID theft, tax fraud - Business - MiamiHerald.com</a>: <i>"“It has been spreading like a virus in South Florida,” Ferrer said. “Not only is it America's fastest-growing crime, it is a consumer's worst nightmare.”
South Florida victims run the gamut: Holocaust survivors, U.S. Marines stationed in Afghanistan, hospital patients and senior citizens.
Perpetrators routinely steal the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of people, including prisoners, the poor and even children. They are attractive targets because they don't file income tax returns. As a result, the IRS can't detect duplicate filings." (read more at link above)</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-35879983264792417272014-08-18T00:00:00.000+12:002014-08-18T00:00:07.006+12:00Who Will Save Us from Big Government<a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?320449-8/panel-discussion-big-government" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Panel Discussion Big Government | Video | C-SPAN.org</a>: "Authors P.J. O’Rourke, Charles Murray, and John Allison, talked about the growth of the federal government.
“Who Will Save Us from Big Government” was a panel at FreedomFest, an annual libertarian conference held July 9-12, 2014, at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada. " (video at link above)<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-86841373184365247772014-08-11T00:00:00.000+12:002014-08-11T00:00:04.972+12:00Unfounded Expectations, Irrational Policies, Politicians<a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-07-24/getting-over-hedge-funds" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Getting Over Hedge Funds - Bloomberg View</a>: "... If anyone has an explanation for how these unfounded expectations came about, or why they persist, please let me know. I am well aware that politicians have embraced these false numbers, as it reduces the amount of contributions they need to make each year to public-pension funds. But it also kicks the can down the road, creating an even bigger hole in future budgets. At this stage,<b> I shouldn't be surprised at irrational policies from innumerate politicians -- but I am. </b>Regardless, this is a trend that bears watching. The top funds in each category of alternative investment -- venture capital, private equity and hedge funds -- likely have little to fear. The remaining 90 percent of the players in this space should pay close attention. Some changes might be coming." (read more at link above)<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-15557412625206658952014-08-04T00:00:00.000+12:002014-08-04T00:00:02.728+12:00Sacks of Cash, Calpers, Pay-to-Play, California Pensions<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/07/11/sacks-of-cash-wedding-funding-the-pay-in-calpers-pay-to-play/?mod=wsj_streaming_stream">Sacks of Cash, Wedding Funding the Pay in Calpers ‘Pay-to-Play’ - MoneyBeat - WSJ</a>: <i>".... The cash bribes were among the new details about the long-running case revealed as part of a new plea agreement with U.S. prosecutors. Mr. Buenrostro and Mr. Villalobos were charged last year with a conspiracy to fabricate documents that duped Apollo into paying millions to Mr. Villalobos’s firm.
The case highlights the sometimes-murky role of so-called “placement agents” such as Mr. Villalobos who collect fees from private-equity firms, hedge funds and other investment firms eager to manage pension funds’ money.
Mr. Buenrostro is the highest profile former public official to plead guilty to pay-to-play charges since 2010, when former New York state comptroller Alan Hevesi admitted that he traded access to the state pension plan in exchange for personal gain.
The former Calpers CEO said in the plea agreement he accepted the $200,000 in three installments while meeting at a hotel across from the state capital building in downtown Sacramento. He also let Mr. Villalobos pay for his November 2004 wedding, stays at two Nevada casinos and business trips to Dubai, Hong Kong and Macau, according to the documents..." (read more at the link above)</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-29720016381579220032014-07-28T00:00:00.000+12:002014-07-28T00:00:01.941+12:00Crony Capitalism, Corporate Executives, Hogs at the Trough<i>In fact, political activity and connections do not lead to higher profits for the vast majority of firms or industries, with the only notable exception being banking-related firms. Using firm-level data spanning a decade, we see no statistically significant correlation between firm or industry profitability and firm (or industry) lobbying or political action committee activity. If lobbying and political efforts do not increase returns for firm shareholders, why would firm executives channel resources in this direction? Our research suggests that — while measures of firm performance and profitability are not correlated with political activity — the compensation of top firm executives is strongly correlated. (source infra)</i><br /><br /><a href="http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-perspective/070914-707992-political-activity-and-connections-dont-make-business-profitable.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Crony Capitalism Pays Well For Rent-Seeking Corporate Executives - Investors.com</a>: "In the wake of the financial crisis, businesses have rushed to ensure that their interests were and continue to be heard in Washington. With more than 12,000 registered federal lobbyists seeking influence in policymaking, the reported expenditures on lobbying federal government in 2013 topped $3 billion.
Remember Solyndra
This is perhaps no surprise, given that programs such as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (or the "stimulus") doled out more than $1 trillion in federal subsidies, grants and contracts directly to specific private businesses.
It's now a common belief that business success depends partly on a company's ability to secure favors through political connections. Known as "cronyism," in this system the government — rather than consumer-driven market forces — picks the winners and losers in the marketplace." (read more at the link above)<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-85323448408268778132014-07-21T00:00:00.000+12:002014-07-21T00:00:04.672+12:00Defined Benefit Pensions, Enemy of the Poor <i>Across the U.S. and around the world, defined benefit programs are in decline because corporations and governments can't handle the uncertainty and because millions of workers prefer the control and portability that comes with an individually controlled defined contribution (DC) account. Despite the popularity and simplicity of DC plans, the public sector in America remains largely entrenched and unwilling to shift away from DB plans.(source infra) </i><br />
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<a href="http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2014/07/08/defined_benefit_pensions_are_an_enemy_of_the_poor_101162.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Defined Benefit Pensions Are An Enemy of the Poor | RealClearMarkets</a>: "... The system sounds outrageous and unbelievable, and liberals should be among the most outraged: A sacred progressive program of theirs is no longer...progressive. And, easy, obvious solutions that empower the poor through personal accounts are available and have worked in the private sector and in some states.
Like most problems involving the poor, the problem is not a theoretical one or a policy problem per se, but, rather, a political one: entrenched interests have strong incentives to protect the status quo against change.
And, when those in power dig in put their own well-being ahead of fact and truth, the result for us is that important issues for the poor and younger people--financial security, poverty alleviation, leaving our children something better--get evaded and ignored." (read more at link above)<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5397604584768677069.post-54158339781070282502014-07-14T00:00:00.000+12:002014-07-14T00:00:01.550+12:00Book Discussion on Fixing Illinois<a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?319709-3/book-discussion-fixing-illinois" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Book Discussion Fixing Illinois | Video | C-SPAN.org</a>:<i> "J. Thomas Johnson and James Nowlan, co-authors of Fixing Illinois: Politics and Policy in the Prairie State, talked about their book. They spoke with Chicago Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson.
This event took place in the north auditorium of Jones College Prep High School at the 2014 Chicago Tribune Printers Row Lit Fest." (go to link above)</i><br />
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