Ohio Has the Third Highest Tax Burden in the U.S.

[Bryan Schwegler]

I'm not paid to have an education agenda anymore. I'm just your opinionated neighbor, and hopefully, your friend.

Of course, I'm proud to call you my neighbor and friend! I've been very impressed with what I've read from you in the past on the Deck.

Besides, if friends didn't have differing opinions, I think the world would be a very boring place. I know I'd hate to interact all day with a bunch of people like me.

[Gary Rice]

Wowie Bryan!

Thanks for that incredibly classy response! It is indeed an honor to be your friend as well!

I feel the same as you do about meeting different people with differing opinions. Different opinions can make good friends too.

I've learned quite a bit from you, Bill, (yes, Bill!) Jim, and a whole bunch of neat folks here on the Deck.

I thank you all for putting up with my opinions too, and I apologize if I've ever ruffled a feather or two.

I certainly never meant to.

Jim? It looks as if I've got to pick up that old banjo again...

"Kumbayah...."

[Tim Liston]

More data on the disconnect between public sector employees and the people who pay them, from an article in this morning's paper....

http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2007 ... n_fro.html

This seems wrong on so many levels, but one thing in particular really bothers me. What is happening here is that Ohio spent taxpayer money to negotiate a deal with Time Warner that results in a $144 million payment, all but $8 million of which will go into five state employee pension funds. The other $8 million goes to the Bureau of Workers Compensation.

It seems to me that this money should have gone into the Treasury instead. State employees are not the only groups that lost money on Time Warner stock. Virtually anybody with with a 401k lost money. Certainly not just public sector employees. Probably way more money was lost by Ohioans working in the private sector than the public sector.

STRS got $66 million restored to their pensions. Private sector employees got $0.

And in fact it's even worse than that, because “Time Warnerâ€Â￾ did not make the $144 million payment. Time Warner SHAREHOLDERS did. So what really is happening here is that a very large sum of money is being taken from the 401k plans of private sector employees and transferred to the pension plans of public sector employees. With taxpayers footing the bill for all the lawyering.

This just doesn't seem right at all. It demonstrates wanton disregard for the taxpayers of our state....

[Jeff Endress]

What is happening here is that Ohio spent taxpayer money to negotiate a deal with Time Warner that results in a $144 million payment, all but $8 million of which will go into five state employee pension funds

Tim:

I'm pretty sure that the attorney's involved were not State AG's but were independent counsel. Also pretty sure that they were paid on a contingency, and not an hourly billing to the state.

Jeff

[Tim Liston]

Jeff you are right about the legal arrangement. The settlement was for $175 million, and $31 million went to a private law firm. Details are here....

http://www.cleveland.com/business/plain ... xml&coll=2

However, the article says that Time Warner capitulated only after Attorney General Dann intervened. So it wasn't like this was an effort that took place outside of the purview of the State.

"I pushed Time Warner hard," said Dann, who is not afraid to swagger a bit in public. "They did not want to battle this out in Ohio." By the following afternoon, a deal had been reached for $175 million, of which $31 million would go to fees and expenses.

Clearly, Attorney General Dann was instrumental in obtaining the settlement. Jeff, if Dann was just another lawyer, and not the Attorney General, do you think Time Warner would have rushed to settle? Heck that's exactly why Ohio did not join in the class action, so that it could exert “officialâ€Â￾ influence!

To the extent that Attorney General Dann used his position and clout as the Attorney General for the State of Ohio to obtain the settlement, then the settlement should benefit the taxpayers of the State of Ohio, and not just public sector employees.

[Jeff Endress]

Tim

I really doubt if the AG had much to do with it...this has been brewing for some time, certainly longer than the 2 months he's been in office. In any event, the AG frequently employs outside attorneys (tax collections, Medicaid recovery, lots of outside work). Those outside attorneys are clothed in the authority of the AG, in fact their correspondence is usually signed as "special counsel, office of the AG", or soemthing similar. I would be surprised if the AG had any more to do with this, on a personal level, than Montgomery had with the tobacco settlements. I think if yu want to find a rational for the settlement... the clout, it was the ability of the hired special counsel/

I believe that the AG is "counsel of record" for the various public sector retirement systems (in the same way that Mason's office is "counsel of record" for the LPL). The basis of the claim, and hence the rational for the recovery, was that the funds invested by the pension plans in TimeWarner lost value as a result of the manipulation. The claim that was settled was that of the pension plans, as the settlement was based upon the damages suffered by them. There is still a class action pending for other stockowners, and the public will be compensated through that venue.

Jeff

Jeff