Ohio Politicians Rally To Crush Teachers Seeking State Pension Transparency- Private Equity Power Stays In The Shadows

This battle is all about whether Wall Street private equity managers can continue to loot Main Street public pensions in secret--flouting state laws requiring public scrutiny.

Watch this You Tube Video from the hit movie Oppenheimer for a clue on who’s really pulling the strings in Ohio. Hint: It’s not teachers.

Amateurs seek the sun. Get eaten. Power stays in the shadows.

Also:

Ohio Teachers Lead The Fight To Restore Integrity To State Pensions

Governor DeWine and his cronies have rallied to thwart a valid teacher pension board election and support Wall Street secrecy schemes looting our nation's public pensions.

Ohio teacher pension participants are leading a national crusade to eliminate Wall Street secrecy schemes at all public pensions across the nation.

Pension warriors participating in the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio have done a masterful job over the past 5 years organizing (through their Facebook groups and without union support), investigating and advocating for transparency at their pension. They have fought valiantly to restore integrity to a state teacher fund that has increasingly operated in secret for the financial and political benefit of others, including its bloated, richly compensated staff and Ohio elected officials. That’s not the way pensions are supposed to be run, i.e., for the sole or exclusive benefit of participants.

But this is far more than an Ohio story.

At this moment, STRS Ohio participants are leading a national crusade to eliminate Wall Street secrecy schemes at all public pensions across the nation. (For example, Ohio teachers are currently working with Minnesota teachers to reform that state’s $28 billion teacher plan.)

At this moment, STRS Ohio participants are leading a national crusade to eliminate Wall Street secrecy schemes at all public pension across the nation.

Although disappointing, it is no surprise that Ohio elected officials who depend upon Wall Street for campaign donations to fund their political ambitions have hastily—within days—united to thwart a valid pension board election and oppose overwhelmingly popular teacher transparency reforms. Prompted by bogus claims of a “hostile takeover” of the pension by Governor DeWine, Ohio politicians have predictably rallied to support Wall Street billionaires who have been looting the nation’s public pensions for nearly two decades.

Let’s review what has happened in Ohio in the last few years.

After years of growing distrust, teachers sought out and paid for—with their own funds—a forensic investigation of their pension conducted by the leading pension forensic expert in the world, a former SEC lawyer who has investigated over $1 trillion in retirement plans. Frustrated by lack of answers, they legitimately sought a “second opinion” as to whether the billions set aside for their retirement were being prudently managed.

Teachers legitimately sought a “second opinion” as to whether the billions set aside for their retirement were being prudently managed.

Who can argue with teachers scrutinizing the fund they depend upon for their retirement security?

The damning findings of that investigation were broadly disseminated to pension stakeholders, including provided to all state officials in Ohio—politicians who implicated in the wrongdoing identified and who did nothing in response to the 127-page expert report. The report was also provided to federal officials at the SEC and FBI.  

The Report rightly identified widespread fiduciary breaches, apparent violations of law and mismanagement. For example, the $90 billion pension had not been audited—as required under Ohio law—for the past 16 years. The Ohio Retirement Study Council—as to which Attorney General Yost served as Legal Counsel since 2019—had utterly failed to do its job, leaving the teacher pension and tens of billions in two other Ohio pensions at risk. No Ohio politician disputed this finding—a fiduciary audit was hastily undertaken, entirely in response to the teacher’s forensic investigation. The ORSC actually blamed the 16-year delay on Covid-19 and no state officials, including the Attorney General, was held accountable for this collosal failure.  

The forensic audit prompted the State Auditor to conclude it provided a “reasonable basis” for a Special Audit by his office. The Special Audit inauspiciously began by his staff admitting to me they knew nothing about pensions.

True to their word, they knew nothing.

A Special Audit by the State Auditor inauspiciously began by his staff admitting they knew nothing about pensions.

Nevertheless, the Auditor agreed the pension should be fully transparent and that had it been prudently managed, pension assets would have doubled over time from $90 billion to $180 billion today.

There are no secrets here: Since 2021, Ohio teachers have openly fought a “hostile takeover” of their pension by staff, politicians and Wall Street. Looting in secrecy is rampant at public pensions across the nation. Ohio teachers are pension warriors leading the fight against it.