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CalPERS is pursuing
responsible investments
Re. “CalPERS gambling with your taxpayer money once again,” Page A18, Nov. 28:
Dan Borenstein leads one to believe CalPERS lost its way. Nothing could be further from true.
With $469 billion in assets, the CalPERS Board is charged with the fiduciary duty to protect the fund’s integrity, invest wisely and ensure funds are available to pay retirement benefits. Borenstein called for CalPERS to further lower the discount rate, or the fund’s assumed rate of return for its investments. A lower discount rate reduces risk but forces employers (taxpayers) and employees to contribute more to the fund unnecessarily.
CalPERS’ history shows the pension fund prudently lowering the discount rate. In 2004, the rate was 8.25%. In 2016 it was cut to 7%. The fund posted a 21.3% return on investments for FY2020-21. This strong performance triggered a reduction in the discount rate to 6.8%.
In 2016 the Board adopted a policy to automatically implement a more cautious investment strategy during good times. Hard to argue with this.
Mullissa Willette
San Jose
Arbery verdict can’t
hide system’s flaws
All three defendants have been found guilty of murder in the death of Ahmaud Arbery (“Jury finds 3 men guilty of Arbery murder,” Page A1, Nov. 25).
After the incredibly unfortunate, but not surprising outcome of the Rittenhouse trial, we have received some sense of justice. An innocent man lost his life at the hands of yet again, White vigilantes. We have seen time and time again how vigilantism in America is favored in our justice system. It was insane to see the amount of support the Rittenhouse verdict received via social media.
The system is still broken and has clear racial disparities and biases. Just because justice is occasionally served does not mean there are no major flaws in our system.
Gurjyot Mahal
San Jose
Arbery prosecutor sums
up Rittenhouse case
Re: “Jury finds 3 men guilty of Arbery murder,” Page A1, Nov. 25:
The lead prosecutor said in her closing statements what I have been struggling to find the words for: “You can’t start it and claim self-defense.” It’s a travesty that the jury in the Rittenhouse trial could not see this simple truth.
Rittenhouse took an AR-15 to a protest, got frightened and started shooting people. He brought the violence with him then blamed other people. It is shameful that the jury bought it.
Becky Sangster
Mountain View
Sentences display
system’s disparity
It’s no wonder so many people are disillusioned with our so-called ”justice system” in the United States. Lee Price III embezzled $1.6 million from the Paycheck Protection Plan to live a lifestyle of the rich and famous and received a nine-year prison sentence (“DOJ: Man used PPP loans to buy Lamborghini,” Page A3, Dec. 1). Meanwhile, El Chapo’s wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, was sentenced to three years in prison for assisting her husband in running one of the largest drug cartels in history(“Wife of ‘El Chapo’ to serve 3 years,” Page A3, Dec. 1).
What we have established now with our current upside-down, skewed system of sentencing, is a conveyor belt churning out those who will see opportunity in committing more violent, immoral, high-dollar-value, sophisticated crimes without fear of just punishment if they are caught.
It is long past time to establish revised judicial sentencing guidelines that will deliver true justice commensurate with the crime committed and its impact on society.
Beverly Lynn
San Jose
Runaway home prices
bad for region’s future
The Millbrae home featured in your “Home steep home: $15,000 to $2 million in 2 generations,” article (Page A1, Nov. 18) went from $15,000 in 1956 to $2 million when it sold a few months ago.
Similarly, my neighbor’s modest single-story tract home was also purchased in 1956 for $13,500 and sold last month for $3.2 million. The ramifications of this absurdity portend dire consequences for the South Bay. With rents also reaching breathtaking levels, we have a permanent underclass of working people who can only afford to live here if they share housing or live with parents. Many are moving away, and justifiably so. No surprise that “Now Hiring” signs have sprouted like daisies.
This does not bode well for our economic future. The “working class” is fleeing, and the quality of life for those of us left behind can only decline. When the bubble bursts, it will be a loud pop.
Kirch DeMartini
Saratoga
Source: www.mercurynews.com