South Carolina taxpayers won a small victory this week when the S.C. House Ways and Means committee rejected a proposed budget hike for the S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission (SCRSIC).
This notoriously incompetent and corrupt agency had asked lawmakers to raise its annual budget from nearly $11 million this year to more than $18 million in the coming year’s budget.
Instead, the committee recommended cutting the agency’s FY 2012-13 budget by nearly $500,000.
Good for them.
The SCRSIC received $5.8 million in the FY 2010-11 state budget – which South Carolina’s “Republican-controlled” lawmakers (and Gov. Nikki Haley) raised to more than $10 million this year. That money – slated to come from the mysterious “other funds” section of the state budget – was earmarked exclusively toward hiring and bonuses (and to making sure that former investment czar Bob Borden was able to roll like a rock star).
Agency leaders wanted to use another budget increase to add more staff – even though the state’s pension fund is already shelling out a disproportionately high percentage of its assets on investment fees.
What has South Carolina gotten in exchange for those hundreds of millions in fees?
A fund that has underperformed its peers – and which lost a whopping $1.8 billion over a six-month period ending in January.
Several of the fund’s corrupt commissioners have been in the news lately for their efforts to boot State Treasure Curtis Loftis – the leading advocate for pension fund reform – from the investment panel. Fortunately their efforts failed.
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By ConfederateLiberal February 22, 2012 at 7:09 pm
The Ways and Committee will rue the day they denied this request.
By Tom February 22, 2012 at 7:34 pm
I heard that two of the members were particularly upset with how commissioner Reynolds Williams ginned up a SLED investigation on Treasurer Loftis. Trying to throw a commissioner/treasurer in jail for disagreeing with policy is over the top. Everyone but Williams and Ryberg know that.
By Billy February 22, 2012 at 8:32 pm
Did Adam Jordan crap his pants this time?
By Dr Ramalamading dang February 23, 2012 at 4:35 am
The state needs new people to manage the pension-these guys have siphoned off money already to Swiss accounts or somewhere. The investments are high gain for maximum profit with very high probability of loss. And losing over a billion is bad news for the fund, never to be recovered.
By Skidmarks February 23, 2012 at 6:09 am
How the hell did they lose $1.8 billion during a period when the Dow was climbing?
By Howie February 23, 2012 at 7:22 am
Things are changing fast at the Commission. All of it good.
By state pension fund February 23, 2012 at 9:45 am
I can see India from my house.
By Pee Dee February 23, 2012 at 2:00 pm
Anyone in the Pee Dee can tell you Reynolds Williams in not to be trusted. He has visited the General Assembly recently and now they cut his budget. Easy to see why.
By James February 24, 2012 at 6:51 am
I had a drink with a very influential member of the House and he told me that between the Commission, Senator Ryberg and Commissioner Williams, the flow of inaccurate information was staggering.
Previously, the House just accepted what they were told. now they double check everything.
The Commission is in a pickle. With spokesmen like Ryberg and Williams, the jar is getting larger.