My Introduction to Class Action Suits

Several years ago, before Facebook had really burst onto the scene, someone asked me to join classmates.com. My high school experience was not one of continuous bliss but, eh, I signed up for the free version. That meant that every now and then I get an email telling me someone has "signed my guestbook" and to see who that might be I have to upgrade to the paid version. To date I have resisted the temptation and haven't checked the free account for, probably, years.

Thus I was somewhat surprised to get an email telling me I am part of a class action lawsuit against Classmates. One email arrived last October but I didn't pay much attention to it. Something about how if I objected to something I had to file a written objection that includes some legal gobbledygook and say whether or not I intended to be at the final settlement, and so on and so forth. I ignored it.

Saturday another email arrived telling me that a settlement was in the offing and:

•IF THE COURT GIVES FINAL APPROVAL, THIS SETTLEMENT WILL AWARD YOU AN ESTIMATED $10 IN CASH, PLUS OTHER BENEFITS.
•TO CLAIM YOUR CASH AWARD, YOU MUST SUBMIT A CLAIM FORM.
•YOU MAY ALSO EXCLUDE YOURSELF FROM THIS LAWSUIT OR OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT. YOU MAY ALSO DO NOTHING, IN WHICH CASE YOU WILL STAY IN THE LAWSUIT AND GIVE UP CLAIMS AGAINST CLASSMATES, BUT RECEIVE NO CASH AWARD.
•PARTICIPATING IN THIS SETTLEMENT WILL COST YOU NOTHING.
•AS PART OF THE SETTLEMENT, LAWYERS FOR THE SETTLEMENT CLASS ([redacted]) WILL REQUEST ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS.
•THIS NOTICE ONLY SUMMARIZES THE SETTLEMENT. COMPLETE INFORMATION ON THE SETTLEMENT IS AVAILABLE AT THE SETTLEMENT WEBSITE ([redacted]).
•PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE COURT, CLASSMATES, OR CLASS COUNSEL. PLEASE DO NOT PRESS THE “REPLY” BUTTON TO RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL NOTICE. NO ONE WILL RESPOND TO REPLIES TO THIS EMAIL.

Yes, I could receive $10, or possibly less if a lot of people sign up for the cash award. What do the lawyers get? Their $1 million in fees is separate from the money set aside for the "claimants." If I read it correctly (and that is iffy), more may be paid towards court costs.

I had no beef with Classmates and do not understand what they did that was worth them paying out something like $3 million total. Mostly I just deleted the classmates emails when they arrived. Of course, there may be far more to the matter than I know. But my immediate off the cuff response to the lawsuit notice is that I didn't want any part of this and don't like being included with only an opt out possibility. Shouldn't this be an opt in decision? Maybe there an earlier email, since deleted, that explains further. It just struck me as an odd email to arrive out of the blue.

Clearing the Record

I've had to correct two posts in the past few weeks.

Yesterday I posted a blog entry on Montgomery County candidates. I mentioned Eileen Behr had won a special election to become current county sheriff. A reader left a comment correcting me. Past sheriff John P. Durante died in office in February, 2010. Alfred Ricci served as acting sheriff until April, 2011 when Gov. Corbett recommended Ms. Behr to be appointed sheriff until the Nov. 2011 elections. Later in April the State Senate approved Ms. Behr's appointment. In May, 2011 she won a contested primary and will be on the ballot in the fall election as the Republican candidate for office. I knew the previous sheriff had died in office and Behr was filling out his term. I saw mentions of the primary and confused it with a special election. My mistake.

On August 15th I wrote a blog entry describing an event held at Roman Delight in Abington. I raved about their deep dish pizza, which is fine except what I had eaten was Sicilian pizza not deep dish. I consider these sophisticated foods and often get this mixed up. Again, my mistake and the entry has been corrected.

Montgomery County Candidates by Gender

Some time ago I looked at the history of women on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. To take a current snapshot of the candidates for county wide office, I looked at the websites of the Montgomery County Democrats (http://www.mcdems.org) and Bucks County Republicans (www.montgomerycountygop.com).

In the county commissioner race each party runs two candidates, the three who get the greatest number of votes are elected. Only one of the current three commissioners is running for re-election. Incumbent Republican Bruce Castor is running with Lower Merion Township Supervisor Jenny Brown. The Democratic ticket is State Rep. Josh Shapiro and Whitemarsh Township Supervisor Leslie Richards.

Incumbent Republican District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman is running unopposed.

Diane Morgan, the incumbent Democratic Controller is running against Republican Stewart Greenleaf, Jr.

For Prothonotary incumbent Democrat Mark Levy is facing Republican Bill Donnelly.

Two women face off for Recorder of Deeds: incumbent Republican Nancy Becker and Democratic challenger Linda Hee.

In the race for Clerk of Courts, incumbent Democrat Ann Thornburg Weiss is running against Republican Moon Ahn.

Two men are running for coroner, incumbent Democrat Dr. Walter Hofman and Republican Dr. Gordon Clement.

Republican Sheriff Eileen Behr, who won the office in a special election was appointed by the governor and confirmed by the PA Senate shortly before winning a contested primary election in May of 2011, faces Democrat Will Holt, Jr. The previous sheriff died in office in February 2010. Alfred J. Ricci was acting sheriff from Feb, 2010 until April, 2011.

Current Register of Wills, Democrat D. Bruce Hanes is running against Republican challenger Patricia Mosesso.

Two men are running for treasurer. It is an open race, neither has the benefit of incumbency. Republican Chuck Wilson is up against Democrat Jason Salus.

Like the commissioner race, each party is fielding a man and woman for county Court of Common Pleas. None are incumbents. Democratic candidates are Richard Haaz and Cheryl Austin. Republicans are running Daniel Clifford and Maureen Coggins. Of the 20 judges listed on the county’s judicial website, five has first names that traditionally or frequently are used by women.

So, if you are keeping score, there will be a woman on the county Board of Commissioners; we just won’t know until November whether it will be Jenny Brown or Leslie Richards. The District Attorney’s office will be retained by Risa Vetri Ferman. The Recorder of Deeds will be a woman. The coroner, prothonotary and treasurer will be male. The races for Controller, Clerk of Courts, Register of Wills, and Sheriff each have one male and one female candidate.

The Court of Common Pleas could have two new male or two new female judges, or one of each.

This is a very diverse ballot, at least by gender, and the parties are to be commended for recruiting women to run for office.

Prez-O on Libya

from the inbox:

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT ON LIBYA

Blue Heron Farm
Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
2:20 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. I just completed a call with my National Security Council on the situation in Libya. And earlier today I spoke to Prime Minister Cameron about the extraordinary events taking place there.

The situation is still very fluid. There remains a degree of uncertainty and there are still regime elements who pose a threat. But this much is clear: The Qaddafi regime is coming to an end, and the future of Libya is in the hands of its people.

In just six months, the 42-year reign of Muammar Qaddafi has unraveled. Earlier this year, we were inspired by the peaceful protests that broke out across Libya. This basic and joyful longing for human freedom echoed the voices that we had heard all across the region, from Tunis to Cairo. In the face of these protests, the Qaddafi regime responded with brutal crackdowns. Civilians were murdered in the streets. A campaign of violence was launched against the Libyan people. Qaddafi threatened to hunt peaceful protestors down like rats. As his forces advanced across the country, there existed the potential for wholesale massacres of innocent civilians.

In the face of this aggression, the international community took action. The United States helped shape a U.N. Security Council resolution that mandated the protection of Libyan civilians. An unprecedented coalition was formed that included the United States, our NATO partners and Arab nations. And in March, the international community launched a military operation to save lives and stop Qaddafi’s forces in their tracks.

In the early days of this intervention the United States provided the bulk of the firepower, and then our friends and allies stepped forward. The Transitional National Council established itself as a credible representative of the Libyan people. And the United States, together with our European allies and friends across the region, recognized the TNC as the legitimate governing authority in Libya.

Qaddafi was cut off from arms and cash, and his forces were steadily degraded. From Benghazi to Misrata to the western mountains, the Libyan opposition courageously confronted the regime, and the tide turned in their favor.

Over the last several days, the situation in Libya has reached a tipping point as the opposition increased its coordination from east to west, took town after town, and the people of Tripoli rose up to claim their freedom.

For over four decades, the Libyan people have lived under the rule of a tyrant who denied them their most basic human rights. Now, the celebrations that we’ve seen in the streets of Libya shows that the pursuit of human dignity is far stronger than any dictator. I want to emphasize that this is not over yet. As the regime collapses, there is still fierce fighting in some areas, and we have reports of regime elements threatening to continue fighting.

Although it’s clear that Qaddafi’s rule is over, he still has the opportunity to reduce further bloodshed by explicitly relinquishing power to the people of Libya and calling for those forces that continue to fight to lay down their arms for the sake of Libya.

As we move forward from this pivotal phase, the opposition should continue to take important steps to bring about a transition that is peaceful, inclusive and just. As the leadership of the TNC has made clear, the rights of all Libyans must be respected. True justice will not come from reprisals and violence; it will come from reconciliation and a Libya that allows its citizens to determine their own destiny.

In that effort, the United States will be a friend and a partner. We will join with allies and partners to continue the work of safeguarding the people of Libya. As remaining regime elements menace parts of the country, I’ve directed my team to be in close contact with NATO as well as the United Nations to determine other steps that we can take. To deal with the humanitarian impact, we’re working to ensure that critical supplies reach those in need, particularly those who have been wounded.

Secretary Clinton spoke today with her counterparts from leading nations of the coalition on all these matters. And I’ve directed Ambassador Susan Rice to request that the U.N. Secretary General use next month’s general assembly to support this important transition.

For many months, the TNC has been working with the international community to prepare for a post-Qaddafi Libya. As those efforts proceed, our diplomats will work with the TNC as they ensure that the institutions of the Libyan state are protected, and we will support them with the assets of the Qaddafi regime that were frozen earlier this year. Above all, we will call for an inclusive transition that leads to a democratic Libya.

As we move forward, we should also recognize the extraordinary work that has already been done. To the American people, these events have particular resonance. Qaddafi’s regime has murdered scores of American citizens in acts of terror in the past. Today we remember the lives of those who were taken in those acts of terror and stand in solidarity with their families. We also pay tribute to Admiral Sam Locklear and all of the men and women in uniform who have saved so many lives over the last several months, including our brave pilots that have executed their mission with skill and extraordinary bravery. And all of this was done without putting a single U.S. troop on the ground.

To our friends and allies, the Libyan intervention demonstrates what the international community can achieve when we stand together as one -- although the efforts in Libya are not yet over. NATO has once more proven that it is the most capable alliance in the world and that its strength comes from both its firepower and the power of our democratic ideals. And the Arab members of our coalition have stepped up and shown what can be achieved when we act together as equal partners. Their actions send a powerful message about the unity of our effort and our support for the future of Libya.

Finally, the Libyan people: Your courage and character have been unbreakable in the face of a tyrant. An ocean divides us, but we are joined in the basic human longing for freedom, for justice and for dignity. Your revolution is your own, and your sacrifices have been extraordinary. Now, the Libya that you deserve is within your reach. Going forward, we will stay in close coordination with the TNC to support that outcome. And though there will be huge challenges ahead, the extraordinary events in Libya remind us that fear can give way to hope and that the power of people striving for freedom can bring about a brighter day.

Thank you very much.
END 2:27 P.M. EDT

Schwartz on Hikers

from the inbox:

U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz issued the following statement today after two U.S. hikers detained in Iran were sentenced to eight years in prison.

“It is deeply troubling that Iranian justices have sentenced Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer to eight years in prison. My thoughts and support are with them and their families.

“As a representative of Montgomery County, where Josh’s family resides, I join with them in calling on Iran to immediately free Shane and Josh. I remain in close contact with the U.S. State Department as it works to seek their release and safe return home.”

Bucks County Candidates by Gender

Some time ago I looked at the history of women on the Bucks County Board of Commissioners. To take a current snapshot of the candidates for county wide office, I looked at the websites of the Bucks County Democrats (http://www.bucksdemocrats.org/2011candidates.asp) and Bucks County Republicans (www.bucksgop.org/candidates).

Both parties list incumbent Court of Common Pleas James McMaster. Of the 13 judges listed on the court’s website, three have traditionally female names, including the president judge.

For county commissioner, the two Republican men (Charley Martin and Rob Loughery) and one Democratic woman (Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia) are running for re-election (or in Loughery’s case election, as he was appointed to fill out the term of now Lt Gov Jim Cawley). Det Ansinn, president of the Doylestown Borough Council and local businessman, rounds out the Democratic ticket.

Register of Wills is an open office. Republican Don Petrille is facing off against Democrat Donna M. Caracappa.

Clerk of Courts is currently held by Republican Mary Smithson. She is being challenged by Democrat Mary A. Whitesell. This is going to be a challenge for campaign workers, since the candidates share a first name and have similar sounding last names.

Incumbent county Treasurer Republican Bill Snyder, who has held the office for 32 years, faces Democratic challenger Tom Kearns, former Middletown Township tax collector and Middletown Supervisor.

Republican Dr. Joe Campbell has served as the county’s coroner for 12 years. He faces Democrat Dr. Umar Farooq.

Regardless of who wins, the offices of Treasurer, Coroner, and Court of Common Pleas judge will be held by men. The Clerk of Courts will be a woman. The Register of Wills will either be a Republican male or Democratic female.

Since three of the four candidates for County Board of Commissioners are men, at least two of the 2012 commissioners are guaranteed to be male. If Commissioner Ellis-Marseglia is re-elected there will be one woman on the board; otherwise it will be all male.

Does it matter? Depends on your point of view. Certainly men can and have represented the interests of all their constituents. I just like to keep track of these things. Over the next few days I’ll be doing the same analysis of Delaware and Montgomery County candidates.

Meehan, Medicare, the Ad, and the Letter

For those who have missed it, there was a brouhaha today about a political television ad, and it isn't even election season? The ad took Congressman Pat Meehan to task on his Medicare policy position. Accountability PA, an organization run by two people who used to work for Meehan's opponent in the last election, is behind the ad. Meehan's office sent a "cease and desist" letter to networks airing the ad. You can read all about it at PoliticsPA.

Redistricting Website

If you want to follow the redistricting process for congressional, state senate, and state house districts, there is a handy new tool for doing so. Check out

http://www.redistricting.state.pa.us/index.cfm

The map overlays are very illuminating. Take a look at your district and others. You can also leave comments for the redistricting commission. (Please be civil and polite.)

Karen Heller of the Inquirer wrote an informative column on redistricting and how political concerns come into play. Read "Less clout, not more, with redistricting," (8/17)

Riddle Me This Penn Museum

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is hosting a lecture series on the Great Riddles of Archaeology on the first Wednesday of every month, October 2011 through June 2012.

General Admission is $5 per event in advance or $10 at the door. Subscriptions to all nine events are available for $40. Penn Museum members will receive free admission to these lectures with advanced registration only.

Topics include King Arthur, Stonehenge, Ozti the Iceman, Atlantis, Jamestown, the Maya and 2012, and others.

It sounds interesting. To give you more of a taste for what the talks will include, here is the description for the Noah's Ark presentation:

Of all bible stories, perhaps the story of Noah's ark and the world-ending flood are the most widely known. Modern scholars have noted the resemblance of the story to one which appears in the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh dating back to the seventh century BCE. While believers and adventurers try to find proof of the ark itself on Turkey's Mt. Ararat, scientists instead look for evidence of the localized flood that inspired the stories. Dr. Fredrik Hiebert, National Geographic Explorer was part of a team that discovered evidence of man-made structures 300 feet below the surface of the Black Sea, adding credence to theories that this was the location of the flood that inspired the biblical and Babylonian stories. Dr. Hiebert will discuss his discoveries and other modern evidence helping to shed light on the story of Noah's ark.

How cool is that? If you're in the area, this would be an inexpensive, educational, and entertaining way to pass a Wednesday evening. Remember to register in advance.

EPA Chief Visited Lancaster County

from a press release last week:

EPA: On August 3, Administrator Jackson traveled to Lancaster County and visited Jeff Balmer, owner of a 60-head dairy farm that is using a variety of best management practices to protect water quality in the community and further downstream in the Chesapeake Bay. The Administrator toured Jeff's farm and he explained how these practices allowed him to prevent runoff and retain soil, making his operation more efficient and sustainable. The Administrator also participated in a roundtable discussion with around 50 area farmers and leaders about ways to protect rural air and water quality and strengthen rural economies. The Administrator pledged to continue communicating directly with farmers and other stakeholders in rural communities about the shared goals of clean air, clean water and increased economic opportunities rural America.

Rudnick Survives Challenge

from the inbox last week:

Today, Brian Rudnick, Independent/Green Candidate for Philadelphia?s 8th City Council District, announced that his nomination papers survived a Court challenge by Independent candidate James Foster. The Court also upheld Rudnick's challenge that Foster's papers contained gross irregularities and ordered Foster's name be removed from the ballot for the 8th District race.

"When I learned through news sources that Jim had collected 875 signatures in merely six days, I became suspicious," said Rudnick. "I was saddened to see that, in his haste, Jim had collected so many signatures of voters outside the district. I regret having to be the one to address these issues but until we change the system, the burden of uncovering these deficiencies rests on the other candidates. Notwithstanding my success in Court, I am hoping Jim will join with me in opening one small crack in the Democratic party machine for which he has advocated so long and well."

Brian Rudnick is a librarian, video journalist, homemaker and activist making his second run for City Council. He earned Bachelor and Law degrees from Penn and a Masters in Information Systems from Drexel. For the last 20 years he has lived in Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill. A married father of three children, one grown and married, the other two who attend public schools, Rudnick is personally and publicly committed to giving schools the resources our children need and deserve. He has devoted himself to creating jobs and a sustainable green economy.

Rudnick announced his candidacy in July and, after their August recess, is seeking formal recognition from his local and state Green Party chapters at their September meetings.

Center for Child Advocates Golf Outing

Mark you calendars, those of you who play golf. This year Support Center for Child Advocates is 'Going Green on the Greens'! On October 3rd is the 6th Annual Child Advocates Golf Classic at Huntingdon Valley Country Club.

According to the press release:

New this year, our partners at Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic (CAMA) will present a fascinating morning program, Green Building and Environmental Responsibility, where we will all learn the science of clean energy and green development moderated by Kathleen McGinty, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, Strategic Growth, Weston Solutions, Inc. and former Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Murphy Minutes

Patrick Murphy, Democratic candidate for Attorney General, and his campaign have been posting short videos of the campaign trail. You can find "Murphy Minutes" on the campaign website: www.murphyforpa.com.

PA State Treasurer Rob McCord at PA Press Club

On July 25th, Rob McCord, Pennsylvania Treasurer, spoke to the Pennsylvania Press Club. A video of his remarks and the question and answer session is available on the PCN website (www.pcntv.com, select PCN+, then Public Affairs; you need QuikTime to watch it.)

I watched the presentation and took rough notes. It is not intended to be a full transcript and there are several sections where Mr. McCord was discussing complex topics with terms I am unfamiliar with, and mentioning numbers I could not record quickly enough. Thus, interested voters are encouraged to watch themselves. As always, I apologize in advance for any errors or misconceptions.

[intro by John Baer]

Remarks by McCord:

Thanks. I am grateful to everybody. I thought with the rain and it being the dog days of summer, it would just be John, the waiter, and me. I am grateful to the Press Club, PCN, and John Baer. Like most smart people I had some fear of coming here. John said it would be a piece a cake and have no fear which I thought meant “I’m going to die.” Quasi-prepared remarks and questions. It’s okay to be wrong just don’t be dull. Had all of 30 months now as an elected officials. Wharton MBA, a couple decades in business, elected to be state treasurer at age 49. Learned while campaigning most voters did not know state treasurer was elected. In some states appointed or elected by legislature but here independently elected, off cycle from governor.

Some observations from a business point of view. This office can be a great profit center. That’s what makes it really fun from my point of view. Large and important role for treasurer to play as a fiscal watchdog. Some people think auditor general is a fiscal watchdog. Absolutely right, but they catch people after things happen, we catch before. Important to avoid making a mistake before it happens and not to catch it later. Treasurer can do a pre transaction audit. We’ve dropped from more than 500 employees to 409. We process $70B in transactions. We tripled audits, saved 45M, just doing pretransaction audits. We paid for ourselves just in pre-transaction audits. If you think of us as a profit center, we run a lot of important programs. Before I took office the trailing 5 years avg of largest pool of capital for which the treasurer is the sole [missed this word] is 1.9% sort of expect that because of bias towards near term capital. Taking advantage of secured debt, in year one returned 13.5%, in year one become billion dollar boy in terms of actual capital return. I had people from my side of the aisle said what are you doing, just put in t bills and don’t lose any money. You do that you got a good name. Just say McCord McCord McCord and you get name recognition equals re-election. I didn’t run just to get re-elected. I’m not interested in that I’m interested in rightsizing and doing good things. In addition we have these two large pension funds. The Psers largest driver of proterty taxes in PA, what happens there really matters. Not about pay. We need great leaders and career investors in those positions. It’s about gains and losses. You look at Psers and Sers they lost in 2008 and we’ve largely mended what happened there with strong years in 2009, 2010, and so far in 2011. We’re not losing 30B in a year we’re making 10B a year. A lot of times people ignore -30 or +10.

I’m COO; it’s a ton of fun. I’ve memorized a lot of names. People say I’ve worked here 20 years and no elected official has ever remembered my name. When you’re asking people to do three times as many audits and do all nighters to make up for payless paydays and work late to pay day care centers after budget debacle of 2009. A lot of people acted selflessly to get that done. I used to get bored hearing about Bureau of Unclaimed Property. But there are 100 employees there. Used to be a patronage place. I’m the anti-patronage pol. It’s a system where if you run it well you either win or you win. You’re either returning property to people who lost it or you’re returning it to the state in positive cash flow (sold on Ebay). (Look on patreasury.org to see if you have any unclaimed property). General fund got $115M last year. Cost 23M (?) but bring in $115M. Very excited about what we are able to do.

I’m often asked if the audits are worth the brain damage. Used to such an obsession with fraud. We’ve been able to increase collections by 96% decrease the time 64%. By using business logic and risk profiling we’ve been able to quantifiable yield higher returns with lower costs. With pension and other funds. We can be shareholder activists. We were an effective part of shareholder movement that changed Massey after mining disaster. Get a lot of press and make a real human difference. Similar with BP. What did get covered? When it bleeds it leads. Remember the DRPA? We think some upcoming audits will improve accountability there. Bond offering. In terms of local press, when we sued the gaming board. I got to serve on a lot of boards when I was in private equity. I was involved in a lot of turnaround. One of the key questions is “am I on the board” and “what kind of voting rights do I have?” Sometimes you just take observer rights, just to be in on the conversations. I was shocked when the gaming board, which has 10 members, 3 non voting who should be activist board members including treasurer, 7 voting, said non voting board members. Gaming board said non-voting can’t attend meetings. I wanted to represent the shareholders and also, sometimes in politics, the fix is in in closed meetings. So we sued.

We got positive returns for the taxpayer, driven up transparency, we’re already driving up return on investment. We commissioned a marketing study. There’s talk of maybe doing an auction. How do you auction it without knowing location. How do you decide the location without marketing survey. The last market service was done in 2003. That was before casinos here now we have ten and all sorts of stuff happening near us – Delaware, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, all of which is relevant. In a month or two we will have that data for you.

Core observations: treasury can be a profit center and watch dog. Need to beware of rhetoric. I believe we are getting painfully close to govt by talking points, policy by taking pledge loses context. Very unwise. Talking point -- we don’t have a tax problem we have a spending problem. Imbedded in that is all govt spending is bad. We need govt resources. To say there is no such thing as a profitable investment form the public sector is boneheaded. Just not true. We pay for ourselves 4 times over at least before taking investments into account. In private equity had to do with internet, traffic, life sciences, and medical sciences. Internet invented by DRPA, fed made grants to MIT to commercialize it. Govt largest or only customer of semiconductors throughout 1970s. Over the long run semiconductors and internet have created their fair share of jobs. Similar with traffic. Think about Chicago without O’Hare airport. Same with life sciences, if you didn’t have appropriate investment in incentive, regulation, and review, everyone would be a snake oil salesman.

Q: if there is a federal debt default what is impact on state govt
A: Very bad in general. Drives up cost of capitol. Impact on credit cards or mortgages. People get badly badly hurt. Depression in equity markets which hurts returns in large pension funds. On and on. Good quotes from Reagan – bad idea to play chicken with debt limit

Q: planning on state level, advice for us?
A: Planning office by office. Planning over at Psers and Sers. I’m an old capitalist, sit around with CIO and ask how can we make money for this place. In terms of advice diversity, have rainy day fund, avoid having to buy, sell or borrow at bad time.

Q: What is situation on state debt?
A: General debt situation in PA is at worst medium. I worry about unfunded liability in pension funds and off budget debt, particularly things like acid run off from coal mines. Main thing we need to do is stop governing by talking point. I as a business person want to ask what is our ROI and cost spread on return. In early 2009 I said we ought to consider pension obligation bond. This would bring the debt on to the budget. What gets dangerous is people saying all debt is bad. No real business leader would say all debt is bad. Look at terms and conditions of debt. For example, in infrastructure if it yields a long term benefit, it’s good.

Q: selling liquor stores
A: Let’s calculate the numbers. Is it a one time windfall? Not always a good thing. Want to wait for PFM review. Leary of selling long-term assets, wants to look at price. If you look at business models, consumer might spend more and consume less in a monopoly. I’m not sure average Pennsylvanian wants to increase amount of booze used. Some don’t want a gas and go culture with booze. We’re more a resource than a vote in this.

Q: How do you get cities off financially distressed list?
A: I don’t know enough about Act 47 to say. The rolling problems in 3rd tier cities, like old saying, all happy families happy in same way, all unhappy cities are different. We’re going to have a lot of tough questions but you can’t ignore vital organs of a Commonwealth. You can’t say I’ll hang out in my malls and exurbs and not worry about smaller cities but we can’t do that. We can’t be like Detroit and have a donut hole and limp along. We all have a stake in reversing some bad decisions in the past.

Q: What is biggest diff between private sector and public sector management?
A: I try to bring a business sense of govt, which is not the same as privatizing. A little harder to recruit quickly and make decisions quickly.

Q: Any sense to take no tax pledge?
A: It’s a bad idea – policy by rent a pledge. I think Tom Ridge was right to get into a battle with Grover Norquist. Transportation Dept had good ideas for long term investment. Pledges constrain your ability to make decisions.

Baer: [Thanks McCord.]

PA Pension Funds in New Yorker

Catching up on reading, this dovetails nicely with another post this evening on the state treasurer. In the July 25th New Yorker, John Cassidy writes a long article on Ray Dalio who started and runs Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund. "Mastering the Machine" is available online.

What does this have to do with Pennsylvania?

Of the roughly one hundred billion dollars invested in Bridgewater, only a small proportion comes from wealthy families. Almost a third comes from public pension funds, such as the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement Systems; another third comes from corporate pension funds, such a those at Kodak and General Motors; a quarter comes from government-run sovereign wealth funds, such as the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore.

SEPTA Changes to Regional Rail

from the inbox:

PHILADELPHIA, PA (August 16, 2011) — SEPTA’s new Regional Rail schedules go into effect on Sunday, August 28. New schedules are available now at locations system-wide and online at www.septa.org. Schedule changes include:

Lansdale/Doylestown Line:

Service to Colmar Station has been increased by almost 50 percent, with 18 additional trains serving the station on weekdays. Passengers choosing to board at Colmar can take advantage of the station’s almost 300-space parking lot. Rail passengers commuting from Center City to Doylestown will benefit from a quicker trip. Travel time to Doylestown will be up to six percent faster and the wait time for inbound trains from Doylestown to Philadelphia after 8 a.m. weekdays has been reduced from 77 to 52 minutes. Changes have also been made to the line’s weekend schedule, and trains from Center City to Doylestown will operate 20 minutes later.

Fox Chase Line:

Due to improvement projects along the Fox Chase Line, shuttle bus service will be used for midday, weekday trips, Monday, through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., beginning Monday, August 29 through Friday, November 18, 2011. Shuttle buses traveling to Fern Rock Transportation Center will replace Regional Rail Service at Fox Chase, Ryers, Cheltenham, Lawndale and Olney Stations. Passengers should allow up to 20 additional minutes to complete their commute to Center City and up to 25 minutes to complete their trips toward Fox Chase.

Paoli/Thorndale Line:

Paoli/Thorndale weekday train #516 to Center City will now depart Malvern at 5:44 a.m. and train #3505 to Paoli will leave Temple University Station at 6:59 a.m. Weekend departure times on this line have also been adjusted and trains traveling to Center City will depart 20 minutes later.

Passengers can visit www.septa.org/schedules/upcoming.html to view changes to their train lines and download new schedules.

Shapiro Richards Meet and Greet, Spiegelman Version

This evening I went out to a “meet and greet” for Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards, the Democratic candidates for Montgomery County Commissioner. First the politics then a few personal observations, but I encourage you to hang on till the end because those personal observations pertain, in part, to food.

The event was held at Roman Delight in Abington and sponsored by John Spiegelman, candidate for Abington Township commissioner (Ward 11). Other candidates in attendance while I was there:
Richard Haaz – Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas
Josh Shapiro – Montgomery County Commissioner
Leslie Richards – Montgomery County Commissioner
Linda Hee – Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds
Will Holt – Montgomery County Sheriff
Jack Kessler – Magisterial District Judge
Daniel Kaye – Abington School Board

Remarks by candidates:
Leslie Richards – as a civil engineer (at a women-owned firm) she has worked to make lives better, by building bridges and parks. On the Whitemarsh Board of Supervisors she has done the same thing, without raising taxes.

Josh Shapiro – There are 800,000 people in Montgomery County, and it is the 3rd largest county in Pennsylvania. In the last presidential election 70% of eligible voters voted, but in the last county commissioner race 70% stayed home. The bickering in DC and Harrisburg is similar to the bickering in Norristown. Elect Shapiro and Richards to get things done. Remember that you get to vote for two names for county commissioner. Two Republicans and two Democrats will be on the ballot. Vote for both Josh Shapiro AND Leslie Richards.

Shapiro (introducing Spiegelman): I met John Spiegelman on my first campaign for state representative. He was interesting in winning but also in what happens after the election.

John Spiegelman: Ward 11 is indeed the heart of Abington, encompassing the hospital, the public library and several of the township’s schools. Spiegelman wants to put together a comprehensive "quickest possible way to contact" list for the entire ward and will use this list to send out township board agendas, etc. before the meetings so people can share opinions, decide whether or not to come out to speak, and work together. He wants to keep the Abington dollar in Abington, for instance creating a small-business-friendly environment to help turn empty, blighted commercial areas into business that will draw from within Abington and beyond to neighboring communities, creating Abington jobs and a thriving community while keeping taxes low. He also thinks the township commissioners should take a stand against developers and other outside forces.

You can find the entire Democratic slate for county races at www.montco2011.comhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Personal observations: It is an unfortunate truth that the food at many political events is unexceptional. I don't know if it is the presence of candidates or bloggers or what, but sometimes even the carrots are bad. So I hadn't planned on eating at this event and planned to heat up some leftovers when I got home. But one look at the deep dish Sicilian pizza at Roman Delight changed my mind. It was GREAT! I haven't had deep dish Sicilian pizza in awhile, living in a thin crust household. Roman Delight makes great pizza. This cannot be said too many times. Roman Delight makes great pizza.

Even better, Spiegelman, the host, had an unusual, but very welcome, parting gift. Forget refrigerator magnets, palm cards, the like. Spiegelman gave out chocolate bars in the shape of his yard signs, complete with his name embossed on it. It's the first time I've seen that. The chocolate bars were made to order by Lores Chocolates of Philadelphia.

As the movie Babette's Feast so clearly pointed out, good food can make good company. The room at Roman Delight was packed and people had to squeeze past each other to move around. I found a chair in a corner to people watch. It was very much a community meeting, a neighborhood get together. Everyone I saw seemed to be having a good time.

Schwartz on Veterans

from the inbox, a note from Congressional Rep. Allyson Schwartz:

As the daughter of a Korean War veteran, I am very passionate about the country’s responsibility to help provide veterans with the medical, educational and career benefits they need. As a member of Congress, I have led the way on legislation to improve benefits for our service men and women.

Last week, President Obama announced new initiatives to provide greater job opportunities to the young men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. I strongly support his efforts to lower veteran unemployment through hiring tax credits, private sector commitments, and reforms that improve the way we prepare, train, and educate service members for life after the military. I commend the President for these initiatives to strengthen our commitment to our brave men and women in uniform. These veterans bring a set of unique skills and training that would add value to American companies.

This proposal is similar to legislation introduced in my first year of Congress. The Veterans Employment and Respect Act (VERA) offered tax incentives to employers who hired unemployed veterans. This bill was signed into law in 2007 by then-President Bush and strengthened by President Obama in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

My district offices can also provide many resources for veterans and has successfully assisted more than 1,500 veterans with VA benefits.

Through the Wounded Warrior Program, I employ a Marine and Iraq War Veteran, Mike Gabriel, on my staff as a full-time veterans' constituent service representative.

Mike assists constituents with obtaining official copies of separation documents, replacing medals, questions related to the Washington Crossing Cemetery, and issues with the Veterans' Administration or military. He can also provide resources to veterans seeking assistance in areas related to education, employment, training and business opportunities.

To provide even more assistance, my Philadelphia office began offering an exciting new service in May. Joseph Buckley, an accredited veteran service officer from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is available every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to assist you or a loved one with the submission of new VA claims. He is also able to answer eligibility and paperwork questions for constituents. Veterans do not need a membership with the VFW to participate in this service.

Staycation

Like many families here in the Commonwealth, my household is staying close to home this summer. Now that I've visited many of the region's amusement parks and cultural amenities, as well as taken in a few movies, it will be back to a more standard schedule. And now that I've changed internet service providers it should be easier to blog more often.

A few notes:

The wave pool at Camelbeach is higher and more forceful than the one at Dorney Park / Wildwater Kingdom. Like the waltz, both seem to work on a 3-beat system. So if you are in the wave pool count 1, 2, jump to keep you head above water

Jammed (or possibly broken) toes hurt like the dickens and there really isn't much you can do for them

For a good overnighter, try combining Hershey Park with either a visit to the state capitol and some of the area museums, or with a visit to Gettysburg. The refurbished cyclorama is really interesting.

The original "Planet of the Apes" movie is available On Demand and makes a good contrast / counterpoint to the new "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" movie.

If you didn't like the Smurfs back in the early 1980's you won't like them now either.

"Julie and Julia" is a good movie about blogging.

It's true, rainy days are great baking days.

You never know what you will find if you actually clean off your dining room table.

If Mom is on vacation you can only expect 2 cooked meals a day. It's either cold cereal for breakfast or sandwiches for lunch. Possibly both.

It is possible that people who are in their 50's and have a bad shoulder, a bum knee, and sore toes should not go rock climbing.

The Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin (the first book, "Game of Thrones" was on HBO earlier this year) is worth reading. I got through the first 2 books and hope to tackle the third over Labor Day weekend.

Short women should always own a sewing machine so they can hem up pants because staples and safety pins might work for a few hours, but stitches are needed for longer periods of time.

I had forgotten I owned hats until I cleaned out the bottom of my closet.

So, hopefully tomorrow I will have a good meaty post about state treasurer Rob McCord's appearance before the Pennsylvania Press Club. Later this week there may be some event posts. It should be back to suburban Philly politics for the foreseeable future.

An Open Letter to Lowell McAdam, Verizon CEO

Dear Lowell McAdam, Verizon CEO,

I saw your ad in the Philadelphia Inquirer today and wanted to offer you a few suggestions. Most of these will be relevant for the next time you are in this situation, as the ship has sailed for them this time around.

Your ad, in my view, was aimed at the general public, trying to show what a great company Verizon is. No offense here but the general public, by and large, does not give you any money. Current Verizon customers do, and potential new customers do. Potential customers are more likely to seek out the opinions of friends and neighbors than remember an ad in the paper.

The ad took up a full page in the paper and probably cost a good amount of money. I think there would have been better ways to spend it. Right now many of your technicians and customer service representatives are on strike and you seem worried about how people will view the company. You should be more concerned with how that strike will affect people who are or want to be your customers. Here’s what you could have done when it was clear that the contract might end without a new one in place:

1) Have a contingent of temporary customer service representatives ready and trained. Either make arrangements with a temp firm or find a company whose customer service workers are in the slow part of their annual cycle. Companies do sometimes share workers if their seasonal workflows are opposite (they are busy when you are not and vice versa). Make sure these people understand your products and can speak English off script and understand idiomatic English. A lot of people are out of work right now and might be very interested in a temporary job.

Have deals thought out and ready to go. Here are some suggestions:

1) Contact people who had scheduled new Verizon hookups and offer them one or two months free service if they are willing to delay their installation for a week or two until things settle down. Not everyone would take it but perhaps enough would that the technicians you do have in the field can handle new installations in a timely fashion.

2) Check to see if current customers who are having connectivity problems are also Verizon wireless customers. If so, offer to let them use their Verizon cell phones to create temporary “hot spots” to ensure as much connectivity as possible until your few technicians in the field can get to them. Hot spots are normally a for fee service. Offer it free with unlimited usage until regular service can be restored. Again, that won’t work for everyone but some people will take you up on it and allow you some breathing room to get the labor dispute settled and experienced technicians in the field.

3) Temporarily remove that really annoying phone tree and make sure when people call they get a real person on the phone who has a good command of English (with people who speak other languages on hand or accessible if needed) can immediately route their calls to the appropriate department.

4) Take out a newspaper ad announcing these and other measures you are taking to ensure current and new customers are happy with their service. Tell people you know they might be inconvenienced and you appreciate their patience, and that delivering a good service with problems handled promptly and correctly is your top priority.

What you absolutely don’t want is to have people who want to buy your service, and current customers with service problems, sitting around waiting for technicians who never arrive or for promised callbacks which never happen. You don’t want people waiting for nearly 20 minutes on the phone to talk to customer service and then get cut off before they are connected. You don’t want one customer service rep telling customers one thing will happen and another customer service rep that something else will happen. You don’t want your company represented by people who appear to be working from a script and can’t respond to questions that don’t follow the script.

I’ve read in a number of places that you make over $50,000 a day. That’s a lot of money; you must be extraordinarily smart and have tiptop organizational skills. So I’m kind of surprised that your top priority at the moment is taking out an ad talking about what a great deal your employees have. Shouldn’t you be focused on customers right now?

Anyway, I hope these suggestions help during the next strike. Or, hey, you could just not ask your workers to accept reduced pay and increased benefits costs. Or, if you do, lead by example and take out an ad telling everyone that you reduced your own pay and increased what you personally pay for benefits. That might go further in raising the company’s public perception than the ad you ran today.

Good luck in all your endeavors,

jane

[posted with borrowed wireless from my neighbor, as I haven't had home Internet service in over a week]