Things are not always what they seem on the surface.  For example, take the recent effort by California Republicans to turn part of CalPERS into a 401(k)-style plan.
 The Republicans’ stated reasons are faith in the stock market
and the ability of individuals to invest.  Deeper, it does some
other, very different, things.  Here are three, off the top of my head:

[more on the flip]

1.  Reducing CalPERS’ holdings reduces CalPERS’ ability to act as
an active investor in American corporations.  CalPERS has around $235 billion under investment [must download PDF ‘Investment Facts’]  and demands good governance
from the companies in which it invests.  By contrast, imagine the
collective action required for thousands of California State employees
to require good governance from the companies in which they invest.
 Is it any wonder that big-corporation financed Republicans want to
reduce CalPERS’ influence?

2.  It’s a swipe at the California State employees’ unions, just
like Proposition 75 was.  It’s intended to reduce their security,
increase their risk, make them more fearful and pliable.  That’s
the effect of increasing risk on individuals, and is one of the reasons
that unions are important.

3.  It enriches the various investment management entities,
another important Republican constituency.  According to the
latest financial statements from CalPERS, their administrative overhead
in fiscal 2005 was $208 million on assets of over $235 billion,
for a management burden of 0.09%.  CalPERS’ return on investment
in fiscal 2005 was 12.3%.  By way of comparison, the management
burden on an S&P 500 tracking stock with zero active management is
likely to be twice that (though that’s still fairly low) and the return
for the S&P 500 over the same period was just over 8.1%.   And
do we really have to get into the performance record of most managed
funds?

The underlying dynamics here are almost exactly the same as they were for the failed Social Security privatization push at the national level. And the outcome would be just as likely to be bad for ordinary working people.

(CA 50 is running fast and furious. Take a listen to your next Congresswoman from San Diego. – promoted by SFBrianCL)

Francine Busby is inspiring candidates across the nation to believe the impossible can happen. When you hear this speech you will know why. But also notice how she paid her dues before deciding to run for Congress. She served locally. She ran for other offices and won.

And she knows the value of fundraising! She spends hours everyday on the phone raising money so she can win the race. Most of out new candidates have a hard time doing the same things that Francine Busby takes for granted.  And remember….she is her second run for the same seat…she doesn’t give up!
She’s the Model…..listen and learn….
MP3 download here