State Treasurer candidate Dan Bohrod issue a statement yesterday criticizing the announcement that dozens of employees of the Wisconsin Investment Board will receive bonuses, despite the fact that the state’s Pension Fund lost $26 billion in value since the economic downturn:
MADISON–State Treasurer candidate Dan Bohrod today blasted the announcement that dozens of employees of the Wisconsin Invesment Board will receive bonuses, despite the Pension Fund’s loss of $26 billion.
Bohrod, who recently announced his candidacy for State Treasurer, called the bonuses “outrageous, and something that as State Treasurer I’ll work hard to eliminate.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” said Bohrod, “the Investment Board does a superb job, and its employees should be well-compensated. But, they are public servants, and bonuses have no legitimate role anywhere in the public sector. We’ve seen on Wall Street that bonuses have been more corrupting than they are inspiring. This sends the completely wrong message to taxpayers and undermines the public‘s confidence in its government. It‘s got to stop.”
In September, Bohrod declared his candidacy as a Democratic for State Treasurer. He will face incumbent Dawn Marie Sass in a primary in September, 2010.
The line about bonuses having no role in the public sector, I find a little troubling. It seems to me that the job of the investment board, in a private setting, would have the potential to make a lot of money in bonuses (if the fund makes money, of course). If the WI board isn’t well compensated in a similiar fashion, wouldn’t that leave the board with the bottom-of-the-barrel investors?
That said, the board lost $26 billion and they got a bonus?
Also, I checked out the 2008 records, and they invested in Anheuser-Busch, but not Miller?
Jim, my problem with these bonuses is that they came on the heels of the Pension Fund losing a significant amount of value. I’m not necessarily opposed to the idea of bonuses for the folks from the Investment Board, but I fail to see how they earned a bonus given the state of the Pension Fund.
Yeah Zach I was taking issue with they line about NEVER giving bonuses, I certainly don’t think losing $26 billion warrants a bonus.
Also, I saw this story in the State Journal today. WI Investment Board Refuses to Furlough Workers The board is funded through the trust fund it manages, not tax money, according to the article. How they are funded when they lose $26 billion, I don’t know…