Free Republic

Few readers will be surprised to learn that decades of incompetence and entrenched corruption in Detroit’s government have not only helped wreck the city; firms linked to former Democratic mayor Kwame Kilpatrick also looted the pension fund.The latest scandal, which leaves even hardened observers of the abysmal Democratic machine that has run the city into the ground bemused, involves a real estate firm which gave the felonious mayor massages, golf outings, trips in chartered jets and other perks as this enemy of the people went about his hypocritical business of pretending to care about the poor while robbing them blind....

Forbes.com has a lengthy piece that tries to devine whether another catastrophe will deliver a final blow to the economy before recovery starts. CalPERS is mentioned in the piece. John Osbon, one of the experts on Forbes' "Investor Team," says, "I can imagine CalPERS or TIAA-CREF making some announcement that they are cutting benefits and payouts by 30% due to investment losses, non-functioning markets and so on. That would be a real hit with real money." This strikes us as a bit ignorant, since CalPERS pension benefits are guaranteed. The fund can't simply "announce" a cut . . .

SACRAMENTO, CA – A recent Los Angeles Times article revealed that California State Controller and gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly helped guide $5 million in pension funds to a venture capital firm run by two well-connected campaign contributors. Taxpayers and public employees should be concerned because this quid pro quo is the latest example of how politicians use California’s public employee retirement systems to benefit their campaign cronies. In 2003, Healthpoint Partners LP, a venture capital fund that invests in medical equipment companies, met with the investment team at CalPERS, the $207 billion pension fund that provides retirement security for 1.4...