I sure got angry today reading a story about pensions/corp gov/US CoC!

[AP]

I was reading my local (crappy) paper recently and in the business section (ie, the "print the press releases from the PR firms of big business" section) there was an article gloating over Arnold Schwarzenegger firing the head of CALPERS -- the largest pension fund in America. I think the guy's name was Hannigan. Hannigan was very pissed off about Enron and about the public markets being used to make pension/mutual fund holders bail out corp insiders by purchasing their stocks when they were tanking (which is what Republican-controlled public employee pension funds in CT, FL and OH did).

So this Hannigan guy was spearheading efforts to get his pension fund to vote against corp board of director candidates whom he didn't think were on board with the idea that they should represent the interests of shareholders rather than corporate insiders.

The US Chamber of Commerce and the ruling fascists didn't like this. The think of shareholders as guarantors of corporate insiders' wealth and not co-owners of corporations.

So this article listed the things the fascists want to do, including to remove just for pension funds the right to vote on board of director members.

Damn, that's sick!

The article also repeated an out-of-context smear by the US CoC. The CoC says the top 100 public pension funds in America have invested money in corporations that do business with terrorist nations. Yeah, like who? Halliburton? AT&T? That is such a ridiculous accusation. Yeah, it's the fault of public pension funds that hypocritical American multi-nationals who list on NASDAQ and the NYSE have no ethics.

Isn't that sort of the point of why it's important to let public pension funds have more democratic power over the actions of the corporations in which they own equity?

Man, that article made me angry.

The Democratic candidate for Governor of CA should run partly on the promise of giving Hannigan back his old job.

[Semi_subversive]

1. I am relying on CalPers to make sure my pension is safe

and I have confidence that they will not fold to the demands of Gov. shit for brains and the CofC. There are a lot of us and we have a tendency to get pissed off. Besides, we should have a Dem Gov when we start 2007 because there's no way Ahnold will run against somebody one on one.

[cosmicdot]

2. here's a link to the Harrigan ousting story

at the time I saw the article, I wondered, too, what the real story is ... ousting someone who is "one of the nation's most outspoken advocates for corporate governance reform"?

the BFEE octopus tentacles at work?

CalPERS, as you know, has had investments in both enron and the Carlyle Group, i.e. February 1, 2001, "CalPERS Invests $425 Million in The Carlyle Group" http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2101_576721

"CalPERS had Enron because many did"
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/12/09/BU208202.DTL

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CalPERS Ousts Harrigan As Its President

December 01, 2004 8:00 AM EST

SACRAMENTO - Sean Harrigan, a longtime union official and one of the nation's most outspoken advocates for corporate governance reform, was ousted from his post Wednesday as president of the $177 billion California Public Employees Retirement System.

In a 3-2 vote in San Francisco, the California State Personnel Board pulled Harrigan from his CalPERS post after five years as the board's representative to the pension fund and replaced him with Ron Alvarado, whose background is more aligned with the private business and government sector. One of the votes to replace Harrigan was provided by a new appointee of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In a statement, Harrigan said he was "saddened" to end his involvement in "restoring much needed integrity and accountability to our capital markets." His supporters alleged corporate pressure and Republican lobbying, including some from the governor, helped drive the move.

~snip~

http://start.earthlink.net/article/bus?guid=20041201/41ad4fd0_3ca6_1552620041201-1966025172

[AP]

3. CalPERS control is a MAJOR reason Republicans wanted to take out Davis

NYC might be where all the corps are HQ'd, but California is where all the shareholders are...or, at least, it's where there are a lot of shareholders organized under the umbrella of a powerful fund run by Democrats who care more about shareholders than about insiders.

But, of course, the minute the people get a little power in their hands, then the fascists are taking it away by giving Hannigan the boot and by trying to change the rules of the game so that pension funds can't vote for BoD members.

I get LIVID thinking about this. These fascists who are doing this to America have absolutely no chance of not going to hell.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Another tactical move by the Chamber of Commerce.

Anyone yet unconvinced that the CofC is a third party?

[AP]

5. Not third party. A private wing of the Republican party.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. I'm afraid that is not true where I live.

It's the reason why voting for Democrats isn't going to make a difference. Where I live, Democrats and Republicans are embroiled in the same businesses, they'll pull the same strings, to get the same results -- personal gain. In one case, they were so intertwined that they were co-defendants in one major lawsuit that I know of. How is the public served when you have a Dem who is just as bad as Republicans in using government for personal profit?

[AP]

7. A kick to see if the NYT will write about this issue.