by: lawdog

Wed Dec 30, 2009 at 13:53:38 PM CST

Here is the Link: http://www.whnt.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=faf052c9-8aaf-489b-b5ab-5a91c32e1a03&src=front

note: a transcription is on the flip for those who can’t get the link to work.

In it, Sherer points out what we at LIA and other blogs have been saying for a long time.  This isn’t “just” a stock market issue.  The PACT board didn’t adequately manage the program and the stock market is their excuse.

Sure would be nice to read that from Alabama newspapers, the AP (I’m looking at you, Phillip Rawls!), or TV stations.  With the exception of Bob Lowry, most have just re-written Kay Ivey’s press releases and called it “reporting.” Glad to see that WHNT is giving some coverage to it and to Sherer.

I transcribed the quotes from Sherer in case anyone has a problem getting it to load – I’ve struggled with that on WHNT a few times.

Treasury Candidate Jeremy Sherer on PACT:

“The fact that substantive changes were actually made today while very few people were actually aware of a meeting is shocking in itself – to the point that those changes constitute a fundamental breach of the benefits within PACT contracts.”

“Absolutely. I think substantive progress had been made in solving PACT. This is not a problem that just appeared during the recent economic downturn as the Treasurer’s office would like many Alabamians to believe. This was a problem that was clearly on the horizon and I believe that if the legislature had been made aware of it before hand we could have actually taken action before the problem reached critical mass.”

“PACT has financial obligations until the year 2032. This is going to be a problem the state is going to have to face for a matter of decades. We do have several hundred million dollars still within the program and I believe we still do have time to act, but frankly, today’s actions by the PACT board forces the issue and I believe will lead to an avalanche of litigation.”

David Wood, WHNT REPORTER: “Sherer told me that he believes the PACT program was ‘flawed from the get-go,’ even going so far as to compare PACT to a Ponzi scheme. He says that today’s decision is a ’slap in the face’ to parents, students, and tax-payers.”