How To Loot A Public Pension.....

[Laxman]

Last edited Mon Aug 17, 2015, 08:13 AM - Edit history (2)

telling it like it is Jersey style. Ahoy mateys! Thar be gold in them coffers and Cap'n Christie is here to take it! The good folks at HedgeClippers.org have done a handy little analysis of the New Jersey pension system and the results are disturbing. New Jersey has a serious pension shortfall. Governor Christie is running around the country touting his "reforms" as he tries to cut benefits that have been paid for by public employees based on that shortfall. He blames the "greedy" public employees. But in reality, it isn't a systematic failure of the pension funds, its been a deliberate hijacking of the public funds meant to finance public pensions and diverting it BY THE BILLIONS to Christie donors-who then used their sharp business acumen to produce smaller returns and charge higher fees.

This isn't just a NJ problem, according to the Financial Times (the use of hedge funds)...equated to public sector pension plans paying about 72 cents for every dollar of investment gain they got back from hedge funds between the start of 2008 and mid-2014, according to the FT calculations. Bad news indeed. But here in the Garden State it stinks even more. Consider the donations made by some of the hedge fund geniuses-who must be pretty smart because if there is any investment that has paid better returns than a donation to the Republican Governor's Association while Christie ran it, I haven't seen it. Consider these generous donations:

KSL Capital – On March 25 of this year, the New Jersey State Investment Council approved a $100 million allocation to this firm,[viii] whose chairman donated $2.5 million to the RGA between 2013 and 2014.[ix]

Lazard Rathmore – A senior advisor with this firm, Herbert Gullquist, donated $75,000 to the RGA from 2012-2014;[x] in 2012, the state committed $150 million to this fund.[xi]

Canyon Capital – In 2011, the New Jersey State Investment Council made a $100 million allocation to a Canyon Capital fund five months after Canyon invested in Atlantic City’s Revel hotel and casino—the same month that New Jersey handed the casino $260 million in tax incentives.[xii]

Chatham Asset Management – In 2012, the firm’s principal, Anthony Melchiorre, along with Andrea Melchiorre residing at the same address, made donations totaling $58,300 to the Republican National Committee,[xiii] an organization that helped fund voter turnout for Christie’s reelection campaign in 2013.[xiv] In November, 2013, the state proposed investing $300 million in this fund;[xv] the following year, potential conflicts also surfaced surrounding Chatham’s reported interest in a major casino in Atlantic City.[xvi]

Third Point Management – The CEO of this company, Daniel Loeb, donated $1.25 million to the RGA between 2012 and 2014;[xvii] in 2011, Third Point was awarded a $100 million contract by the State Investment Council.[xviii]

Elliot Associates – This company – whose CEO, Paul Singer, donated $3.85 million to the RGA between 2012 and 2014[xix]– also manages $200 million of New Jersey pension fund assets.[xx]

Lesser returns? Not a problem as long as there have been larger political donations, right? So when Christie touts his record in NJ consider this:

The state’s hedge fund investments have come under additional scrutiny in recent months, as allegations of misrepresentation of fees paid to hedge fund managers, serious conflicts of interest, and possible pay-to-play involving hedge fund managers and contributions to Governor Christie have surfaced.

Since Governor Chris Christie took office in January 2010, the New Jersey State Investment Council nearly doubled its allocation to hedge funds, to over 10 percent of assets under management. Total hedge fund fees from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2014 were likely more than $1 billion; meanwhile, hedge fund returns lagged same-sized portfolio of total fund returns by $1.1 billion over the same period.

Just remember Cap'n Christie and his swashbuckling band of pension pirates. They've been growing fat on public pension money and blaming the folks who actually paid into the system for the shortfalls.

Head on over to the Christie Crime Digest for lots more on the sordid rule of Christie the Pirate.

Try not to look too closely at this picture-it can cause either uncontrolled laughter or horrible nightmares. We let this guy bully us?

[onethatcares]

1. he's got a damn camel toe

and I bet he hasn't washed his nether regions in weeks.

[Laxman]

2. I Warned You....

not to look too closely!

When will the teflon wear off this guy?

[diddlysquat]

3. I will never be able to unseen this.

[uponit7771]

4. Christ Christie is a republican

[Faux pas]

5. Dastardly

[Beach Rat]

6. Matt Taibi wrote a really interesting article about this.

It was in Rolling Stone a couple of years ago. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/looting-the-pension-funds-20130926

In the final months of 2011, almost two years before the city of Detroit would shock America by declaring bankruptcy in the face of what it claimed were insurmountable pension costs, the state of Rhode Island took bold action to avert what it called its own looming pension crisis. Led by its newly elected treasurer, Gina Raimondo – an ostentatiously ambitious 42-year-old Rhodes scholar and former venture capitalist – the state declared war on public pensions, ramming through an ingenious new law slashing benefits of state employees with a speed and ferocity seldom before seen by any local government.
Called the Rhode Island Retirement Security Act of 2011, her plan would later be hailed as the most comprehensive pension reform ever implemented. The rap was so convincing at first that the overwhelmed local burghers of her little petri-dish state didn't even know how to react. "She's Yale, Harvard, Oxford – she worked on Wall Street," says Paul Doughty, the current president of the Providence firefighters union. "Nobody wanted to be the first to raise his hand and admit he didn't know what the fuck she was talking about."

Soon she was being talked about as a probable candidate for Rhode Island's 2014 gubernatorial race. By 2013, Raimondo had raised more than $2 million, a staggering sum for a still-undeclared candidate in a thimble-size state. Donors from Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital and JPMorgan Chase showered her with money, with more than $247,000 coming from New York contributors alone. A shadowy organization called EngageRI, a public-advocacy group of the 501(c)4 type whose donors were shielded from public scrutiny by the infamous Citizens United decision, spent $740,000 promoting Raimondo's ideas. Within Rhode Island, there began to be whispers that Raimondo had her sights on the presidency. Even former Obama right hand and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel pointed to Rhode Island as an example to be followed in curing pension woes.

What few people knew at the time was that Raimondo's "tool kit" wasn't just meant for local consumption. The dynamic young Rhodes scholar was allowing her state to be used as a test case for the rest of the country, at the behest of powerful out-of-state financiers with dreams of pushing pension reform down the throats of taxpayers and public workers from coast to coast. One of her key supporters was billionaire former Enron executive John Arnold – a dickishly ubiquitous young right-wing kingmaker with clear designs on becoming the next generation's Koch brothers, and who for years had been funding a nationwide campaign to slash benefits for public workers.

I think I'll just get it all over with and turn over my bank account and the deed to my house to these guys now.

[Laxman]

10. Some Of The Same Characters...

show up in that article. Specifically Loeb & Singer. I hadn't seen that before. It is definitely a formula that is being followed around the country.

[malaise]

7. I'm trying to figure out which is worse

The looting or the photo

[Laxman]

8. It Was Kind Of A Cheap Shot....

but I couldn't help it. A picture that truly captures what a disgusting human being he is.

[malaise]

12. Don't you worry - I posted

it the day after it was taken - Ewwwwwwwwwwwww!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. He's just following the standard Republican formula.....

BTW: Nice camel toe ya got workin' there dude.

[mikeysnot]

11. I see the ad campaign now...

Chris Christie has BALLS!!!!!!...

We let the pictures speak for themselves!

[Laxman]

17. Maybe....

maybe not. I think the jury is out.

[mikeysnot]

18. he hee.

I have seen bigger balls on babies.

[shadowmayor]

13. Opportunity Knocks

Folks,

This bastard is the human form of Cartman from South Park. Hell, they're even shaped similarly. Everybody should start referring to this turd as Cartman. Not governor, not candidate, just simply Cartman. For those who've ever watched the show, the shoe really fits here.

On a similar note, for fans of the Game of Thrones HBO series, I think Cruz has an eerie resemblance both physically and socially to the boy king Joffrey. Among my friends and colleagues and even on the street, I only speak of Cartman when referring to Christie and Joffrey when referring to Cruz. Believe me, those under 40 truly make the connection, and I'm an older fart.

Now for your homework assignment: Who does Trump represent?

The Shadow Mayor

[Laxman]

14. Cartman And Christie....

even play the same position! Catcher. Cartman looks a little better in a baseball uniform.

[Unknown Beatle]

15. Rick Santorum

looks like Petyr Baelish in GOT.

[Uncle Joe]

16. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Laxman.

[Enthusiast]

19. Kicked and recommended!

[raouldukelives]

20. Best democracy investors can allow. nt