HuffPo has a story about Rick Perry and Phil Gramm working on a scheme in 2003 where Gramm's company (UBS) would purchase life insurance policies on teachers. The teachers families would get nothing, but UBS and the state of Texas would make big profits. This is hard to follow, but it seems like the deal ultimately fell through, but Gramm was later trying to do similar deals that would make his company huge profit using his protege (Perry)'s influence in state government.
Couple of points here. No wonder Republicans rail at government, because they are busy using government to make themselves rich. They know the corruption, because they are the corruption.
Second, I am more convinced than ever that the worst deal Christian conservatives ever made was to vote as a bloc for people who sold themselves as Christian conservatives who would return America to some mythic Christian past. They opened themselves up to any list of sociopaths who mouth Christian language on one hand, but pursue the most unChristian policies on the other. Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, and Michele Bachmann are the fruit. Hell, it started with the idiot Bush--who is looking smarter and more moral by the moment when compared to his followers. What does that tell you?
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In a previous State job, I dealt with this concept of buying life insurance policies on teachers, state workers, etc. Usually an insurance company approaches the retirement division of state government with the scheme. The point is to sell the life insurance on the worker, then basically hope they die early. Theoretically, the windfall would help close reduce the unfunded liabilities on the defined benefit (pension) system.
The actuaries in state government aren’t stupid. They know it’s a scam that amounts to a poor investment. In Michigan, the Department of Treasury does a pretty good job investing pension funds and usually beats the market. They don’t need an insurance salesman telling them what to do. Not only is it a poor investment, it may be illegal. At the least the state would need to get every individual to sign up for the life insurance. It could not be done without their permission.
The State usually shoots them down and the insurance company then runs to the legislature and tells them how stupid the Treasurer is. Then the legislators, being the wise sages they are, try to ram the idea through with legislation.
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