Divestment will hurt retirees!
From our educator retiree friend in Colorado...she's not afraid to speak her piece! This article appeared in the Rocky Mountain News. This concept (divestment) also applies to ALL Ohio public service retirees. If Josh Mandel's HB 151 is pulled out of committee and put before the Ohio Legislature for a vote by House Speaker Jon Husted we all (Ohio public retirement systems) stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars!
"I read with interest the Sept. 16 Speakout column, “It’s imperative that Colorado divest from Iran,” written by four esteemed Colorado legislators. The “Colorado” of the headline, in this instance, is in reference to Colorado PERA. Nowhere in this column did I find the same level of concern expressed for these same investments made by banks, brokerage and investment firms, business and labor pension funds, or even private individuals and legislators.
Why would a divestment bill only target PERA and no other such person or entity? Furthermore, divestment bills only target defined-benefit plans for divestment, not defined-contribution plans, which must only add one “clean” fund. One can only assume that as soon as these high-yield stocks are divested from PERA’s defined-benefit plan, they can and will be quickly purchased by any one person and any entity ... with the exception of Colorado’s PERA defined-benefit plan.
Since these divested stocks will continue to be listed on the stock market in this era of globalization, the only ones who will suffer are those teachers, policemen, firemen and public servants who have invested their lifelong savings in Colorado’s PERA defined-benefit plan.
Let’s trust our managers, board of trustees and shareholders/investors to make the correct financial decisions for Colorado’s PERA defined-benefit plan. That’s our responsibility! And our life savings!"
Cheryl Flagg
PERA retiree
Steamboat Springs
posted by Kathie Bracy at 9:32 PM
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