The LuLac Edition #4,513, May 5th, 2021

 

WRITE ON WEDNESDAY

Our “Write On Wednesday” logo.

This week we loom to the Times Shamrock board that looks into public corruption in the state and what it means for its residents.

TAXPAYERS LEFT TO ROOT FOR INCOMPETENCE

Some level of incompetence is as inevitable in government as in any other large enterprise. But Pennsylvania’s government is unique in continually forcing residents to root for incompetence — a lesser evil than corruption.

Over the last decade, Pennsylvanians have seen a steady parade of high-level public officials perp-walk into prison — an attorney general, county judges, senior leaders of both parties in the state House and county commissioners — and the forced resignations of others, including two Supreme Court justices.

Such hubris is as appalling as it is expensive. This time it’s the Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System, the larger of the two gigantic state pension funds that, together, are underfunded by more than $60 billion.

Because of that, each of Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts annually must give PSERS an amount equal to 34% of its payroll, an amount that would put any private-sector enterprise out of business. That is in addition to the state government’s contributions to PSERS and the plan covering state government employees, which together total nearly $5 billion a year.

For that kind of money, taxpayers deserve honesty and transparency, at the very least.

Instead, PSERS has been caught by the news media fudging its earnings claims and passing on $25 million in additional costs to taxpayers rather than school employees. It’s not clear whether that was inadvertent. As reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, federal authorities are examining how PSERS leaders reacted when internal estimates revealed that earnings would not meet their projections.

Now, the agency has been served with federal grand jury subpoenas regarding its $3 million acquisition of land in Harrisburg for construction of a new headquarters. It has hired a law firm, the contract with which identifies the parcels in question.

And, in classic Pennsylvania fashion, the law firm will be paid up to $367,500 in public money as the feds examine whether the agency’s conduct was incompetent or criminal.

Neither is acceptable. Regardless of the inquiry’s outcome, it’s obvious that PSERS requires reform and change at the top.