Top 10 Lessons From Jersey
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is currently teaching a master class on ripping off pension funds and making his Wall Street buddies even richer in the process. For politicos and hedge fund managers, pension funds are a high-value target, and in a very short time, Christie has amassed an impressive record of moving money out of the fund and into the hands of his political donors and other powerful interests. So, here’s a list of 10 things to watch happen after a horizontally challenged hustler makes all kinds of promises before he takes office.
- Your state will wind up being ranked 43 out of 50 for having the lowest level of pension obligations funded.
- Skipping or missing payments, like when Christie skipped the required $3.1 billion pension fund contribution last year.
- The shifting of funds from allocations to managers of “alternative assets” like hedge funds and private equity funds, which charge vastly more in the way of fees than simple stock and bond funds.
- The fox is now in charge of the hen house, like when Christie installed a longtime private equity executive, Robert Grady, to manage the state’s pension money.
- The amount of fees paid to juiced-in, big time Wall Street firms will more than triple—just like it has in Christie’s New Jersey, which is now one of America’s largest investors in hedge funds.
- Since it’s now basically insider trading, pensioners will watch their savings burn as financial services hustlers give each other envelopes. For instance, New Jersey went heavy on its Lehman Brothers investment just before the firm crashed and burned, and everyone on the inside knew it would happen.
- Your state will start cooking the books regarding returns on pension fund investments.
- Watch your “reformer” governor make a run for the White House with a little help from all the Wall Street types he was so kind to while governor.
- Watch ratings agencies give a rich state like New Jersey eight credit downgrades, making it look more like Alabama.
- After the smash-and-grab job—at least if you’re as slick and connected as former U.S. Attorney Christie—check out the smooth and flawless getaway.