Rudy Fichtenbaum responds to STRS' response to Ted Siedle's forensic audit report

From Rudy Fichtenbaum

June 12, 2021

Subject: My comments on STRS's response to Siedle's Report

Some quotes from Fichtenbaum's full response, which is posted below the quotes:

"The general approach taken by the STRS staff in responding to Siedle's report is not to provide real evidence but to use a basic fallacy that gets taught to every college student who takes a course in logic and that is the 'appeal to authority.' The appeal to authority fallacy is making a statement that something is true or false because an expert says it is true or false. Something is true or false, not because an expert declares it to be true or false, but because there is evidence."

"The STRS response is long on appeals to authority and short on evidence."

"...the statement in the STRS response was a form of misdirection and is therefore misleading, because it is addressing the wrong question."

"The claim that alternative investments are good for STRS would be like a coach in a post-game interview telling reporters that we had a terrible game in the first half and a terrible game in the second have but overall, we played a great game."

"Higher returns would have increased the plans assets and reduced the unfunded liability and that is what matters when it comes to the ability of the pension to meet the promises that were made to members."