Raiding the Piggy-Bank (TRS) & Request for Additional Info

[pagandem4justice]

I had a message from another DUer regarding one of my posts yesterday, in which I stated that TRS (TX Teacher Retirement System) had been "raided" over the past decade. The DUer asked for more specifics. Below are the snippets of research I sent, but I told her I would post here and ask other Texan members if they had more.

Thanks!

-----
TX Observer, 9/13/02

The Houston Chronicle revealed in 1998 that, after Bush became governor in 1995, the Texas Teacher Retirement System then feathered the nests of Harvard Management and a major Bush donor: the family of developer Trammell Crow. Without seeking competitive bids, the state teacher retirement fund sold the Anatole Hotel in Dallas to Harvard and Crow for less than what the state spent to refurbish it. Some people have speculated that Harvard Management is the institutional investor that bought all of Bush’s Harken shares in 1990.

-----
Noblesse Oblog, 3/26/05

Bush broke a campaign promise to Texas teachers when he cut $400 million in funding from the state’s Teacher Retirement System in 1995. The Texas Teachers Pension Fund — whose board was appointed by George W. Bush — invested $100 million in the Carlyle Group. Where have I heard that name before?

-----
Texans for Public Justice (Molly Ivins), 11/30/04

(Phil Gramm)'s been back here in Texas lobbying to make it legal to sell "dead peasant" life insurance to the Teacher Retirement System... Gramm is currently vice chairman of UBS Investment Bank. Under the UBS plan, the Retirement System would buy annuities and life insurance policies on retired teachers and keep the proceeds when they die. Of course, the investment and insurance industries would profit from the premiums and brokerage fees.

-----
EnronOwnstheGOP.com

According to the Austin-American Statesman December 26, 2001 article, Enron announced $600 million losses on October 16, 2001, and Enron publicly acknowledged a Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry October 22. The very next day on October 23, TRS bought $2.2 million worth of Enron stock. October 24 the other state retirement system Employee Retirement System bought $10 million worth of stock. It is very curious that two state agencies would buy stock the two days immediately after bad news on Enron appeared.

On October 31, SEC announced a formal investigation into Enron. On November 6, Enron stock dropped, and on November 8, Enron increased its debt by $2.5 billion. Despite this very bad news, on November 9, TRS bought $4.3 million of Enron stock, and on November 12, TRS bought $4.7 million more.

Is it possible that Texas retirement funds were being used in an attempt to shore up a failing Texas company which had donated heavily to state officeholders charged with overseeing Enron? Why did TRS buy risky stock three times after it was known that Enron was in serious trouble? The people of Texas have a right to know.

-----
IndependentMedia.tv

Tom (Hicks), a busy bee, is also chief corporate raider for the firm Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst. In addition to being Bush's No. 4 career patron, Hicks, Muse wanted to dip into the $13 billion University of Texas (UT) endowment for takeover deals, sort of like Michael Milken's old corporate raider "treasure chests." ...Coincidentally, as Bush stepped into the Texas governor's office, Hicks was confirmed as a University of Texas regent, first chair no less. Hicks corralled some lobbyists to help pass a bill to create the UT Investment Management Co (UTIMCO)...Then UTIMCO handed out contracts to private investment firms to "manage" pieces of the endowment - lots of foxes in the old hen house...

The (UTIMCO-related, Arlington school) tax 'reform' bill (exempting the Rangers) . . . would have saved at least $2.5 million in school property tax for a company founded by Bush's billionaire business partner and top campaign contributor, Richard Rainwater of Fort Worth. Rainwater was top gun of a public company, Crescent Real Estate Equities, a real estate trust traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Guess what? Bush had 4,222 shares of the company's stock when he offered up the tax cut that would benefit it. This was the firm that owned psychiatric hospitals throughout the country closed because of scandals and frauds exposed by 60 Minutes and several publications before the 2000 presidential election...

Add to that, the Crescent perks afforded by Bush policies: (1) receiving an extra $10 million stadium tax for a stadium used by the Dallas Mavericks; (2) Texas sold to Crescent three office blocks that belonged to the teacher's retirement fund the sale of one block cost the fund $44 million (3) the trust fund for the TU Public School sunk $20 million in Crescent in Bush's first term as governor.

:hi:

[acmejack]

1. Good thorough documentation!

Very nice work pagandem4justice.