| Did you know that the New York State Comptroller is the sole trustee of the state's pension fund? I had just assumed that there had to be a Board of Directors of some sort like one finds in, ya know, normal states, ones that are sane. There isn't. It's Tom DiNapoli. Period.
That's right. Mr. DiNapoli, a man who flunked a very basic economics quiz, a man who, when asked about the number of retiree beneficiaries of the fund, was off by a staggering 600,000, is now the sole trustee of a fund now pegged at over $154 BILLION dollars. Wrap your head around that one. Then ponder that Tom wants to keep it that way even though there are some rather serious questions about decisions made by his disgraced predecessor.
Inquiries Raise Questions About State Fund
Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Monday that amid continuing investigations of the comptroller’s office, the state should consider ending the practice of having the comptroller act as sole trustee of the state’s $154.5 billion pension fund.
“The issue of having a single person as the sole trustee is an issue worth taking a hard look at,” Mr. Spitzer said in an interview, adding that he had not made up his own mind on the subject.
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New York is one of only a few states in which one person has ultimate responsibility for the pension fund. Other states, like California, have politically appointed boards that oversee pension dollars.
Maybe having one guy, a guy without much - how do I put this delicately? - actual experience in either management or finance, running the whole show without any oversight isn't such a great idea.
Of course, Mr. DiNapoli doesn't see it this way. He thinks the status quo is just fine. Hell, he even has a remedy and it's a doozy.
Many officials now are weighing whether additional safeguards against conflicts should be put in place. But the current comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, said in an interview last month that he believed he should retain his role as sole overseer of the pension fund.
“As comptroller, the ultimate accountability is at the ballot box,” Mr. DiNapoli said. “If you have a board, that becomes a more diffuse level of responsibility.”
That's some chutzpah, don't ya think? A man who didn't receive a single vote outside of the legislature itself for the office he now holds, suggesting that the remedy for folks not so enthralled with his skills, or lack thereof, is the "ballot box".
Nice one, that. |
