Damschroder: Ohio STRS provides THE perfect example

John Damschroder Columnist – Mar. 24, 2021

read the full article at thenews-messenger.com

There’s no better illustration of the difference between public and private financial misconduct than the story of 93-year-old Beverley Schottenstein. The widow of a former Schottenstein Company president and member of the family with their name on Ohio State’s basketball arena, recently won a $19 million settlement from JP Morgan Chase and her grandsons, over allegations that the bank and brokers had profited by churning her account with high cost, inappropriate transactions.

Mrs. Schottenstein didn’t lose money, she just didn’t earn the returns she should have with investments appropriate for the investment interests of a late-in-life retiree. Family members and America’s largest bank managed the account to maximize their own profits. It’s the shorthand version of what AFT claims is happening with public money in private equity.

In Ohio, where losing 100 percent of a $525 million investment becomes a platform to brag and method to boost bonuses, lifting the curtain on private equity won’t matter unless voters pull down the lever against the politicians who let it happen.