Florida woes

[candy331]

Delayed audit has bad news for state
Florida must repay $267-million paid to the state pension fund, auditors say. Democrats suspect politics delayed the audit.
By ALISA ULFERTS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 12, 2003

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


TALLAHASSEE - A federal audit that was delayed until after Gov. Jeb Bush's re-election last year is finished with bad news for Florida: Florida owes the federal government $267-million for excessive payments Washington made to the state's pension fund.

State officials say fat chance.

"We're not wrong. We're going to prove to the federal government that we played by their rules and they're wrong," said state Senate Appropriations chairman Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie.

Democrats suggested Thursday that politics played a role in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' decision last year to delay the audit for six months. That put its completion after the November 2002 election.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

[janekat]

1. It was all that Enron Stock Jeb had Florida Buy

I hope it is brought that Jebbie - who was in charge of the pension fund had them buy massive amounts of Enron stock - even though he knew that Enron was going to collapse.

Apparently, Kenny Boy called Jebbie and begged him to buy up Enron stock in order to boost the stock report. Kenny was hoping that this would help to prevent the collapse of Enron.


http://www.counterpunch.org/claybrookjeb.html
Florida's pension fund --for which you chair the oversight board --lost $334 million on Enron stocks and bonds in the wake of the company's collapse. Many of the pension fund's investments were made as Enron's stock was plummeting in value and financial problems at the company were being publicly revealed.

Investigations into the fund's losses are now being conducted by the Florida attorney general, the Florida State Board of Administration and a committee appointed by the state House of Representatives.

[1monster]

2. That's my representative!

"At least it's part of a mismanagement of the Florida retirement fund," said Rep. Doug Wiles, D-St. Augustine. "At worst, it was a deliberate act to win an election."

[ComerPerro]

3. What has to take place in order for a Republican scandal?

Why is everyone so tolerant of such flagrant and obvious wrongdoings when the law is broken by a Republican?

[cthrumatrix]

4. I'm sure Jeb will be brought to task soon.......watch the legs this story

has...watch and see if the media calls him on this...and the repercussions.

[LuCifer]

5. Man, am I proud to be a FloriDUHan!

God! WHAT NEXT!!!!!!

Oh, I know, the group of gimps who want CONFEDERATE FLAG FLORIDA PLATES!

www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-atag15sep15,0,3296694.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

Hate to sound like a broken record, broken record, broken record, but, WHY do y'all from up north, you know, in BLUE states, move DOWN HERE? (And I do mean DOWN here!)

Lu

[jab105]

6. I don't understand, can you explain?

So Florida government employees did work for the federal government and then the government contributed to their pension plans but wasnt supposed to?

I dont know what this means?

Why does florida owe the federal government money for it and what would cause the federal government to overpay....

And, if the surplus in the pension fund is $12.8 billion, then $267 million isn't that much...is the pension fund meant to be a real "trust fund"?

[madfloridian]

7. I think that simply it was an effort to make the budget look better.

He stopped the audit until after the election. The figures are played with so much it is hard to tell.

Bottom line: it is not good that 3 billion of my pension fund is owed to someone else. And that is only the part we know about.

[newyawker99]

8. candy331

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