RH Jones: Who is responsible for the drought?

From RH Jones, December 17, 2009
Subject: The "Supplemental Clean-up" 9-yr. drought

To all:

As many other Ohioans are presently going to enjoy their year-end supplemental checks (Christmas checks), their retired teachers are going yet another year-end without one. Note: As commonly known, the “13th check” was very fairly calculated by our OH STRS. On the STRS Payment History website, for “Issued Disbursements” it is called a “Supplemental Clean-up”. It tidied-up their disbursements for the year; but, did you know that their web mentions as the year 2000 as being the last year that it was disbursed.

That is 9-years without retired teachers being able to spend the disbursement here in Ohio during this gift giving season.

As a retired educator, you may be asking who is responsible for this 9-year drought in the issuance of the 13th check? Could it be those who are trusted to honorably and thoughtfully are supposed to monitor the STRS associates, the STRS board? Or could it be a failure of our retiree and active teacher unions who may have failed in their duty to be sure the STRS funds are always sound and sufficient to fulfill the needs and promises that were made at the time the active educator chose to retire? Also, could it be the State of Ohio officials who have not provided sufficient employer economic support for the STRS?

Everyone knows the American stock market has its ups and downs; therefore, a reasonable person can conclude that probably the most blame for the 9-year drought is mostly the dereliction of the responsibility the paid “experts” in the investment department we hire to know how to keep solid high investment returns pouring in? Who else can keep STRS able to issue retired teacher year-end disbursements? Does only the shadow know?

My opinion,
RHJones, retired OH teacher