Part-Time Perry’s TRS scandal

It seems there is one thing that Part-Time Perry will work hard at: helping his friends and contributors.

In a new smoking-gun memo, a whistle-blower reveals that hundreds of millions of dollars from the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) were steered by Perry’s appointed Board of Trustees to certain companies over the objections of professional financial analysts. Who are these companies, you ask? Companies owned and operated by major donors like Gary Peterson, who has given Rick Perry $400,000 in campaign contributions and whose investment company was paid $4,279,287 in fees by the TRS fund.

The appointed Chairman of the Board was none other than Jim Lee, a gambler who racked up six-figure debts in Vegas and the Perry campaign’s statewide finance co-chair.

The TRS, which safeguards the savings of more than 1.2 million current and retired teachers in the state of Texas, has close to $100 billion in assets, but under Perry’s watch the formerly well-run fund has found itself with $21.6 billion in unfunded liabilities. Don’t Texas teachers deserve better than having their retirement savings handed out to Perry cronies by the governor’s compulsive gambler finance chair?

With all the damage Perry and his appointees have managed to do in Texas, maybe it is a good thing he works only seven hours a week.

For a full run down of the scandal, click here.

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