Guess Who Invests With Bain

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) has $1.25 billion invested with Bain Capital. Ricardo Duran, CalSTRS spokesman, said that CalSTRS’s fiduciary duty to its members and their families is paramount. He also said that private equity (such as Bain Capital) has been the best-performing asset class in the system’s portfolio over the past 24 years, and that “… the scrutiny generated by a heated election year matters less than the performance the portfolio generates to the fund.”

And the last time I looked, the California Teachers Association (CTA) [a CalSTRS participant] is a union. So how does the CTA resolve this apparent conflict with the AFL-CIO, which said, “Bottom line: the issue of greed vs. fairness is more than a debate about Romney’s role at Bain. It’s about fundamental American values we all hold – and how Romney’s actions, while running a major corporation, show he does not share our values.” Real “Bottom line”: “Bain‘s private-equity executives have enriched dozens of organizations and millions of individuals in the Democratic base – including some who scream most loudly for President Obama’s re-election.”

Hank Kim, executive director and counsel of the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, with 550 members, says that “pension managers ultimately want stability and good returns, which private equity has provided.” And Max Patterson, executive director of the Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems, says “It’s all about money.”

And guess who else invests in Bain Capital. Toys “R” Us, The Weather Channel, Dunkin’ Donuts, and some 140 other companies, state and city pension funds, and universities. Below is a (very) partial list:

• State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio ($767.3 million) – the Ohio Education Associationis a union
• Pennsylvania State Employee’ Retirement System ($231.5 million) – Pennsylvania state employees belong to a union
• Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System ($177.1 million) – Iowa state employees belong to a union
• The Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System ($19.5 million) – Los Angeles Fire and Police employees belong to a union
• University of California ($225.7 million)
• University of Michigan ($130 million)

No one, not Obama, not Democrats, not the DNC, not the MSM, not unions, has pointed out the obvious hypocrisy of the unions going after Romney and his business career at Bain Capital.

Where is the Obama campaign on this? Where is the MSM on this? Where is the DNC on this? Why have they not announced who invests with Bain Capital? Will they lose credibility if they make this announcement? Why is this hypocrisy allowed to continue? All of these questions can be answered with one word: “politics.”

But that’s just my opinion.

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