Blackstone and Public Pensioners

Trying to placate public pension funds annoyed by Byron Wein's statement that public employee benefits are too generous, the money management firm Blackstone has now issued a statement declaring, "We oppose scapegoating public employees by blaming them for the structural budget deficits that cities and states face." No one's scapegoating anyone, but it's hard to see this as anything other than a sorry display of spinelessness by Blackstone, whose business depends on winning investments from public employee pension funds on which public employee unions are well represented. Blackstone co-founder Pete Peterson made a public career out of warning that Social Security and the federal budget is at risk, while getting rich in part by accumulating fees from a state and local pension system that put state and local budgets at risk. When it comes to disregard for the taxpayers, sometimes the government contractors are as bad as the politicians, or worse. At least the politicians have to stand for re-election.