>While I share your jaundiced view of
>the stock purchase idea, it should be
>noted that state pension funds are
>pre-funded in this way and there is
>no overarching political-economic issue
>that I can see in that context.
Hmm, well the KKR buyout funds were legitimated on Wall Street when the Oregon state pension fund kicked in some big money in the early 80s; after that, Henry Kravis had no problem shaking money out of institutional investors. Ten years later, you have the California Public Employees Retirement System, the New York City Employees Retirement System, and all the rest who make up the Council of Insitutional Investors, pushing the lean & mean agenda on corporate America. So much for pension fund socialism, eh?
Doug