Portside

'Why, then, are public pensions being targeted by an Enron billionaire, the Pew Charitable Trusts, corporate front groups and right-wing activists? Because pretending public pensions are the primary cause of state budget problems allows greedheads and ideologues to distract attention from -- and therefore prevent cuts to -- their beloved corporate welfare. In some cases, it also allows them to embed language in pension "reform" proposals that transfers worker retirement money into alternative investments -- the kinds that incur expensive hedge fund fees and enrich Wall Street.'