As long time stock trader I have never used 'naked put options' as the enourmous risk it carries is not worth employing it as a trading strategy. Yet as renowned economist Randall Pozdena points out in this OPED
that is the strategy the Oregon Supreme Court has effectively used in it's PERS rulings. So the question to be asked of Supreme Court justices who are in the PERS system (conflict of interest?) is this: are they ultimately responsible for the PERS mess we find ourselves in? Will their actions force hurtful tax increases on working families in Oregon to cover the PERS shortfall? If the answer is yes, will the voters hold them accountable? Stay tuned as this saga is far from over.
- Dec 3, 2015
It's ugly friends. Even with a seven year bull stock market, the PERS unfunded liability is exploding as this Oregonian story details. The cost to taxpayers is going to be staggering as the only way to meet these obligations is to cut services and or raise taxes on everyone, not just the rich. The real question is this: what happens if the people reject the union's tax increases at the ballot and the ruling Democrats in the legislature refuse to make cuts to pay these court ordered obligations? Since Bankruptcy is not legally possible for the state, the options to deal with this will be brutal, politically speaking. It may boil down to this: a massive political wave elelction like 2010 with new leadership that once again puts reform legislation in front of the Oregon Supreme Court. Would public pressure be so great that the court would reverse themselves and allow the reforms to stand? Perhaps but only if they become politically concerned about their future on the court as elected officials. How could that happen?
- Nov 12, 2015
Planned Parenthood has gotten really good at making money (from the taxpayers) over the years, especially when they buy birth control pill packets for $3, bill Medicaid $35 for them and ultimately are reimbursed by the taxpayers for $26, a nifty 800% profit! This lawsuit revealed these disturbing practices and even more unethical and potentially fraudulent behavior. It seems Planned Parenthood also asks for $10 donations from the same poor women that recieve those taxapyer funded birth control pills, creating even more profit! And it even gets better! When the pills are returned unused, they are repackaged with different dates and given to another woman, with Medicaid being billed a second time for the same pills they paid for already!
And this is not the first time they have been caught redhanded scamming the taxpayers as the story reveals another Planned Parenthood organization paid back 4.3 million to the government for similar claims in a lawsuit brought forward by another whistleblower. But, have no fear, they will likely pay no real price in the court of public opinion or be penalized by Congress as other Medicaid scammers are who are prosecuted and banned from further dealings with Medicaid. They ought to be, but don't hold your breath.
The waste of taxpayer dollars here could be massive if these practices are conducted by all Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country. Lets hope more whistleblowers step forward if that is the case and finally forces Congresses hand to stop this scam.
