September 5, 2015

Jeb Bush Made Millions Giving Investors Billions Of Florida Pension Funds To Lose

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/08/30/jeb-bush-millions-giving-investors-billions-florida-pension-funds-lose.html
"According to a comprehensive International Business Times analysis of Florida government documents, and a list of George W. Bush’s bundlers compiled by Public Citizen, there were no less than 11 firms that received the Jeb Bush pension investments because they were qualified as “Pioneers.” Further analysis of data from the Florida Division of Elections and Political Moneyline determined how much money executives from those firms donated directly to Jeb Bush’s campaigns, George W. Bush’s campaigns, the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Florida between 1998 and 2006 while Jeb Bush was in charge.
For example, Lehman Brothers, already recipients of Florida pension largesse courtesy of Jeb Bush donated $499,000 to Bush campaigns and received $175 million in pension money from Bush. Also included in the eleven investment firms was the largest private equity firm in the world, the Carlyle Group, where Bush daddy George H. W. Bush served as senior adviser from 1998 to 2003 during the time all these “Pioneer” transactions were occurring. The Carlyle Group received $275 million of Florida public employees’ pension savings for donating $69,000 to keep George W. Bush in the White House. As one pundit noted, the special relationship between Jeb and giant financial institutions really means that the “quid pro quo was a double windfall for the Bush clan,” and contributed to monumental pension losses for Florida public employees."