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Rick Perry, Death Dealer: The Poster Child For Why We Need Government Regulations

by Tommy Christopher | 4:46 pm, August 29th, 2011

» 81 comments

Republican frontrunner Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) has been under a glaring media spotlight since entering the GOP field, and while it hasn’t been completely ignored, Perry’s life insurance scheme to open a futures market on dead Texas teachers deserves more attention than it’s getting. Even the liberals who have noted the ghoulish plan have failed to connect it to his new vision of the Civil Rights movement. Perry’s plan perfectly illustrates the need for what he calls “over-regulation,” but what the rest of us call “regulation.”

It’s sad, but not surprising, that Perry’s reputation as a Death Dealer has failed to get the traction it deserves. Much was made of George W. Bush‘s affinity for Texas’ death chamber as governor, and Perry’s record makes Bush look like the Susan Sarandon character from Dead Man Walking, but in both instances, there is a flaw in human nature that allows far too many people to accept the trade-off of revenge for a little bit of innocent blood. In some people, it’s even cause for admiration. As Politico reports, one participant in a focus group said, of Perry, “It takes balls to execute an innocent man.”

The quote is meant to shock, but the sad fact is, that kind of sick, id-fueled logic appeals to a lot of people, and it’s probably going to keep him from paying much of a political price over the life insurance scheme. I have to admit, as I read the details, the part of me that appreciates unfettered cinematic villainy was awed by the comical soullessness of the whole enterprise.

Here are the broad strokes, as reported by The Huffington Post’s Zach Carter and Jason Cherkis:

…the Perry administration wanted to help Wall Street investors gamble on how long retired Texas teachers would live. Perry was promising the state big money in exchange for helping Swiss banking giant UBS set up a business of teacher death speculation.

All they had to do was convince retirees to let UBS buy life insurance policies on them. When the retirees died, those policies would pay out benefits to Wall Street speculators, and the state, supposedly, would get paid for arranging the bets. The families of the deceased former teachers would get nothing.

Technically, they wouldn’t get “nothing,” as the article goes on to explain that reluctant retirees would be enticed into this arrangement with $50-$100 in extremely cold cash. The details only get more ghoulish from there, but as a former insurance consultant, the thing that leapt out at me was how such a thing could possibly be legal.

Even a layperson would have to wonder how an uninterested third party could take out life insurance on some random person. Surely, there’s something to prevent life insurance from becoming a back-alley dice game for anyone who can afford to bet on a stranger’s death. As a matter of fact, there is: state regulations. In this case, “insurable interest” regulations, which are foundational to the entire life insurance industry: (emphasis mine)

“Insurable interest” is a key principle in life insurance law. It is the requirement imposed by law (and by insurers) to prevent a “gaming” or “wagering” by one party on the life of another through insurance. Simply put, to insure the life of an individual, the applicant must have an insurable interest, i.e., a greater concern in the insured’s living than dying. Courts (and insurers) look for “a reasonable ground … to expect some benefit or advantage from the continuance of the [insured].” Stated in another manner, the public has an interest in preventing the contract of insurance where the applicant has no interest in the continuation of the insured’s life other than the prospect of profiting from the insured’s early demise.

This is what prevents your neighbor from eyeing a big payday when he sees you out back, grilling bacon-basted ribs.

Insurable interest regulations vary from state to state, which has, in the past, permitted some Perry-esque twisting of the concept, such as the 90′s Wal-Mart case, where the company was secretly taking out policies on even its low-level employees, and pocketing the proceeds of their deaths. The worst of the so-called “Dead Peasants Insurance” was done away with by federal regulations that require companies to disclose to, and get consent from, any employee it attempts to insure. The new federal regs also restrict such policies to those in the top 35% of earners at a company, in keeping with the original intent of such “key employee” policies.

As ghoulish as it was, at least Wal-Mart had a fig-leaf of insurable interest, in that they could actually point to costs associated with the loss of an employee, even if they didn’t amount to what the policies paid out. In the case of the Texas life insurance scheme, the holders of these policies would have no concern in the insured’s living, and every interest in their dying.

The Huffington Post article goes on to explain that the Texas scheme was dependent on Texas’ insurance commissioner waiving insurable interest regulations. This is what Perry is talking about when he compares the struggles of corporations with the Civil Rights movement: your freedom to have your death become a casino game for Swiss bankers.

This is what Mitt Romney means when he says “corporations are people,” that their right to gamble on your life is equal to your right to live that life.

This is what Michele Bachmann means when she says that “slavery is horrible, and economic slavery is horrible, too,” that corporations must submit to the cruel whip of regulations that prevent them from turning you and your family into so many dice, or doing anything else they want to do.

We’ve all had experience with a regulation that we thought was stupid, or a stack of forms that we don’t see a purpose for, and that makes it easy for Republicans to demonize them. If the Republicans said they were against “excessive criminal laws,” they wouldn’t get this kind of traction, yet the consequences of “under-regulation” are often more dire than that.

2012 elections, Austin, Dead Man Walking, Dead Peasants Insurance, George W. Bush, GOP, Insurance, Jason Cherkis, Mitt Romney, Pensions, Phil Gramm, Public School Teachers, Retirees, Rick Perry, Susan Sarandon, Texas, Texas Governor Rick Perry, Ubs, Zach Carter

Anonymous

The Huffington Enquirer . Always a great source , if you don’t have Paul Begala or Bill Burton around .

So , he went after Perry , Romney and Bachmann in one story . Tommy’s on fire today .

Quick ! Nobody get an extinguisher !
Anonymous

Obama is hell bent on putting all of us ” real ” Americans to death at the same time, like a jr. Hitler wannabe of sorts. Not one peep from his peeps in the MSM, but you guys spend every waking, plus dreaming hour figuring out how you can serve your false god and master Barack Hussein Obama ll by murdering ( the character of ) each & every one of his opponents.

This loser, Obama, even gets the ‘ Affirative Action ‘ treatment from the MSM…..but nothing can save him now……NOTHING.
Anonymous

The question is, who fed Tommy this meme today? OFA? John Podesta? Straight from the DNC? Alan Grayson?
Redleaf

We don’t need government regulations. Corporations should run everything. We’d get a lot more done.
Chrisg

Hey doofus.

I know you have a creepy obsession with the President, but in case you can’t read, this article has nothing to do with him.

It’s about Perry’s very morally dubious scam to bet on the deaths of teachers.
Chrisg

Is this comment supposed to be satire?
Re-Elect Obama 2012

Is this another sick example of “compassionate conservatism”
Anonymous

Well, if we had absolutely no financial regulation whatsoever, there’s a reasonable chance the financial collapse of 2008 would never have happened.

People who had absolutely no ability to pay back loans were given loans because the government demanded that they be given loans, and the government back-stopped those loans. Without those government REGULATIONS (known as the Community Reinvestment Act), those loans would never have been originated. Without that worthless paper, there wouldn’t, there wouldn’t have been anything to securitize and then peddle to the open market

Let’s look at the bailout of General Motors. General Motors made HORRIBLE business decisions, not the least of which was negotiating with the unions to literally pay people to stay home. That is not a sustainable business model. But, instead of suffering the consequences of their horrible business decision(s), both General Motors and the Unions were bailed out (read: Regulated back into business).

General Motors should have, like every other company, faced the music in normal bankruptcy court. That would have brought some much needed religion to the markets.

When markets are free and unencumbered, the business community is healthier because only HEALTHY companies survive. When the business community is healthy, it’s also growing and when it’s growing, then people are employed.

It’s our regulations that have given us near double-digit unemployment. And, given the waterfall of new regulations that Obama has enacted, that unemployment will continue unabated for the foreseeable future.

Welcome to Obamerica,.
Chrisg

Your comment has as much basis in reality as Galt’s Gulch.

The repeal of Glass Steagall was more of a cause of the housing crisis than CRA. The majority of subprime loans were not regulated by CRA. That’s a convenient scapegoat for dupes.

A free and unencumbered market never has existed and never will (except in the fantasies of adolescent minds like Ayn Rand).

You can live in your fantasy libertarian utopia.

I’ll live in the real world where sane people recognize that clean water and salmonella free produce are good things.
ElJeffyBovido

So. let’s get rid of gubimmint and go back to the stone age.

How about Obama enacting WHITE slavery? I am sure you will be pleased with your new job.
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

Hey Tommy, whos the “rest of us?” You meant “the rest of us liberals” right?

You dont speak for me brother, and you certainly dont speak for the country.

Dont you forget, as a self professed liberal, you are in the vast minority.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/141032/2010-conservatives-outnumber-moderates-liberals.aspx

”Conservatives have maintained their leading position among U.S. ideological groups in the first half of 2010. Gallup finds 42% of Americans describing themselves as either very conservative or conservative. This is up slightly from the 40% seen for all of 2009 and contrasts with the 20% calling themselves liberal or very liberal.”
Anonymous

Can someone explain to me how this is any different than Key Man insurance? My company has had a key man policy on me for years and it hasn’t affected my life any. Is this just another case of liberals (ie, Mediate “commentators”) not knowing how business actually works in this country? Tommy, feel free to answer.
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

“Here are the broad strokes, as reported by The Huffington Post’s Zach Carter and Jason Cherkis:”

LOL “reported by the huffington post…” Damn Tommy you are hilarious!

What’s next- going to link to the liberal “crooks and liars” blog too?

Oh wait..you did..!

I cant wait for Tommy’s next project: an in-depth profile of Herman Cain, sourced by Janeane Garofalo.
Anonymous

So none of it is true? Never happened?
Anonymous

Holy crap, did you bother to read the thing? Maybe you ought top before you post on something.

How the hell do elderly retired teachers qualify as Key Man?
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

The only way democrats have a chance to prop up Obama is to go deeply negative.

Make no mistake- the 2012 election will make 2008′s campaign look like a pep rally in comparison.

Obama certainly can’t run on his record, and since he is going to have nearly a BILLION dollars of negative ad money to run its going to be really ugly.

This is only the very, very beginning. By this time next year democrats will want you to believe that Perry is George Bush’s racist, bible thumping evil twin.

(BTW Tommy, if you plan on using that caricature of Perry I expect to be sourced.)
Anonymous

The CRI mandated no loans to anybody. That’s a lie and you are a liar.
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

The next time someone sources newbusters.com, I hope you have that same reaction.

BTW you will hardly, if ever see me cite a conservative blog or post because I know the argument will be dismissed because of the source.

Tommy Christopher should in the very least be held to the same standards his commenters have.
Anonymous

Yes, Tommy, certainly one nutjob speaks for the rest of us. That’s probably where you got the fucked up idea that you speak for me. What a little weasel you are.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NWVKX2P2QBPQ6FHQHCHVIC2ALQ Fedup in Florida

More likely a BS story with no basis or foundation… but that won’t stop it from being reported by Huffpo.. It this story is true I will join you in calling for him to be thrown in jail..
Anonymous

When markets are free and unencumbered, the business community is
healthier because only HEALTHY companies survive. When the business
community is healthy, it’s also growing and when it’s growing, then
people are employed.

This is fantasy. It may be true in an ideal free market but that does not exist in the real world. Some people are corrupt , from the person who scams welfare to the wealthy who run ponzi schemes and all manner of crimes that have a much further reach and effect a lot more people than someone lying to get food stamps.

Someone needs to do historical film about the development of regulations and where they came from. They may have gotten out of hand but the idea of doing away with them entirely is trying to find balance by taking all the weight off one end of the scale. It doesn’t work.
Anonymous

or perhaps reality, records and such.
Anonymous

The title conservative doesn’t mean they all agree with you.
Anonymous

Did Perry come up with this on his own? It’s called “Perry’s” plan here, so I take it that he initiated it’s planning and implementation.
Betting on when people will die with life insurance policies is just about as unethical as it gets, so how exactly did it become legal? An awful lot of people had to know about this to get it to pass.
Who are the Wall Street investors? How did UBS get involved? What was the time line? Who broke the story and how? There are so many questions now and more to come later.
If this is all true, Perry has lost my interest as a candidate. I say “if” because it just seems too unbelievable that such a plan could even exist. It sounds like a fictional TV mystery.
I suspect that there is a great deal more to this story than what was outlined here.
Since this may not have come out without political motivation, I will remain skeptical until there are real answers and solid reporting. I’m sorry but I have been given reason to be skeptical about HuffPo’s reportage on Republicans. Releasing bits and pieces like this is very irritating even though it is a developing story.
I would like to make the important point here that “over-regulation” should not be wholly dismissed or minimized because of this.
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

I think you missed my point. Im saying that a majority of Americans dont agree with Tommy Chrisopher’s views politically, so when he says stuff like “what the rest of us just call regulation” its BS and I’m calling him on it.

When it comes to over-regulation vs not overly regulated, one would safely assume most conservatives think we are regulated too much.

So yeah in this case, I’m pretty confident a vast majority of conservatives agree with me- and since conservatives outnumber liberals 2-1, one could take away that my disagreement with Tommy’s point of view is easily in the majority as well.

check and mate.
Socratease

Well that’s just rich: someone who wholeheartedly supports the abortion racket in the US describing someone else as a death-dealer. Do you not see the glaring hypocrisy of someone who holds your position ever calling anyone that?

That’s not to say that Perry didn’t do anything wrong here. I don’t know the whole scenario, and doubtless, nobody on this website does either. Because anyone who read your article would be unable to discern the truth from it, Tommy, given how much of a partisan hack you are.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NWVKX2P2QBPQ6FHQHCHVIC2ALQ Fedup in Florida

This story seems to have been around for a long time… it is truly unbelievable but it is not new.. I could only find reports from left leaning sources on it but this is not something that was just made up in the last few days… I have never seen anything on it in mainstream reporting… I have to wonder if this is not the left picking up on a BS story created several years back to hurt Perry as the Governor or if it is true… It is interesting that we have not seen this story in the mainstream media, as it does seem to be the kind of story that could take him out of the race.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2004-01-26/news/17407487_1_state-officials-education-workers-ubs-investment-bank
Anonymous

I never said “the rest of us liberals.” By “the rest of us,” I mean sane people who understand that betting on people’s deaths is wrong. I give my conservative friends credit for knowing that, even if you don’t.
Anonymous

Yeah, you really ought to read what I wrote before you comment.
Anonymous

Well, I routinely link to conservative sites, as well, probably more often than to liberal ones. That kind of “Oh, you linked to so and so?” comment translates, roughly, to “I cannot argue with you on the merits. Wahhh!”
Anonymous

Although I’m always super cautious with anything HuffPo has to say, I’m willing to keep an open mind and it’s possible the two reporters got this story right.

It’s also very probable that it’s just a bad hit piece to damage the current Republican contender. I looked into the authors previous posts on HuffPo, and here they are:

Another Rick Perry Staffer Ensnared In Teacher Death Bond Scheme

Bank Of America To Perry: ‘We Will Help You Out’

Rick Perry’s Texas Hometown Feels Abandoned By Presidential Hopeful

Rick Perry Super PACs Raise Issues of Coordination, Collusion

Would The Old Rick Perry Be Calling For Governor Perry To Resign?

Governor Rick Perry: Big On Prayer, Not So Big On Charity

Rick Perry’s College Transcript: A Lot Of Cs And Ds

Rick Perry’s ‘Texas Miracle’ Includes Crowded Homeless Shelters, Low-Wage Jobs, Worker Deaths

Lol. Think the guy has an opinion on Perry?

It’s like the guy is getting paid specifically to target Perry!
Anonymous

BTW, That was his entire posting history throughout August! EVERY article was on Perry.
Anonymous

Perry is scum, take it from a Texan – but DO NOT underestimate this guy.

He has big money and a very functional team of ruthless operatives who have kept him in the governors seat after he spent us beyond bankruptcy, gutted education, tried to sell our roads to a foreign company (and turn ‘em into toll roads), gave millions to corporations, set up slush funds to give millions (or billions) more, practices blatant corruption on a scale preciously unimaginable here (a large campaign contribution can get you almost anything) – and in Texas, that’s really saying something – and Diebolded our elections where a turnip with (R) after it’s name could win any elective office in the state, while every city in the state was electing Democrats.

He will win the nomination if they don’t catch him with a live boy or a dead girl, and he could beat Obama.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dave-Be/1751243136 Dave Be

The Huffington Post article, and pretty much all of the other coverage I could find, wildly misrepresents the proposal. “Dead peasant” insurance basically pays the amount of premiums, plus interest, as a benefit. The advantage to companies (and to the teacher’s retirement system in this case) is that they can borrow the money to buy the insurance, deduct the interest they pay, and then get the death benefits tax-free. It’s a tax arbitrage scheme, not a scheme to gamble on when people will die, and since Texas has no income tax, they’re a likely candidate for a deal like this. It’s a lot less sinister than the article lets on, since the investors benefit more the longer the insured people live. Don’t like it? Think it’s ghoulish? It’s not Rick Perry’s fault, it’s the fault of the bought-and-paid-for congressmen of the 2006 congress that were supposed to close these loopholes but instead passed extremely weak legislation that made them only a tiny bit smaller.
http://twitter.com/WakingCall Susan

and also to Tommy Christopher:Tommy, Thank you for your article; I knew about Dead Peasant policies.. I didn’t know they were still operational… it is disgusting, and as you say ghoulish.. my own bank in certain states also partcicpated in this gambling scheme, without permission of the insured. What a degraded culture we live in, and the big players are the worst!.Shame, Shame on Perry, and on anyone else who has done this, or still doing this..or feels it is okay to do this… The Creator help us if these morally bankrupt persons get elected.
.
http://twitter.com/WakingCall Susan

I support niether…
http://twitter.com/WakingCall Susan

I support niether…
http://twitter.com/WakingCall Susan

possibly, but maybe he just doesn’t like him because of what he is and does.
http://twitter.com/WakingCall Susan

this to Turk 281…possibly, but Tom Christopher maybe just doesn’t like who Perry is, what he represents, and what he does .Perry comes off ( now, I not saying he is) as a blow-hard bag of lies. He may be a lovely man , for all I know, but I doubt it.
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

Wrong. You were talking about over-regulation vs regulation when you made your “the rest of us” crack.

Do I really need to quote your own words to you, idiot?

btw, i really enjoy being lectured about death from a liberal. You pro-choice Tommy?
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

Wrong. You were talking about over-regulation vs regulation when you made your “the rest of us” crack.

Do I really need to quote your own words to you, idiot?

btw, i really enjoy being lectured about death from a liberal. You pro-choice Tommy?
Anonymous

I read exactly what you wrote. I notice you didn’t answer my question. All you wrote was that employers can only get key man insurance on those in the upper 35% of wage earners in the company … is there any evidence (You remember “evidence” right? It’s the kind of thing investigative reporters use when writing an editorial masked as an investigative article.) that the plan was to purchase insurance on those in the bottom 65% of wage earners in the state government employees pool? Or is it just an assumption you make because Perry is an evil “death dealer”? By the way, did you come up with that shameful headline, or was that your editor making you look like a fool?
no one

In what sort of parallel dimension is this sort of comment even remotely appropriate. Seriously, what the fuck.
Anonymous

In other words you have no idea if it’s true or not? Isn’t it worth checking out?

There’s nothing wrong with being skeptical of sources but dismissing them out of hand is just ridiculous. There’s a difference between someone’s personal blog and a site that claims to be news. Site like Beck’s or Brietbart’s or Beck’s or HuffPo may have their slant but that doesn’t mean everything is a lie.

A political slant doesn’t always equate with dishonesty and outright lying does it? I find varying degrees of credibility and evenhanded approaches from site to site , author to author. You may reach a different conclusion based on the facts , or find that some key facts were left out , but the key question ,

Did this happen? Is pretty dam relevant in a presidential election wouldn’t you say?
Anonymous

Thanks for the article Tommy. I read that piece on HuffPo and posted it here the other day. It needs to be repeated often until the media gets Perry to address it. In other news, I think your jokes are improving.
Anonymous

So are you going to address the details of the story and Perry’s actions or not?
Anonymous

You obviously didn’t read with comprehension. Try again and check out the part describing what was going on and insurable interest. That’s exactly how it’s different than Key Man Insurance and it’s in the article plain as day.
Anonymous

and for the record, although it wasn’t just the republicans, Bush signed a bill into law that was criticized by many conservatives that forced Fannie and Freddie to do more for low income housing and to get federal funds to take care of down payments.

Was it a well intentioned mistake or just part of the overall plan to make billions from bundling mortgages? He also signed the law allowing the fed to bail out financial firms.
Anonymous

You are free to refute the above accusation if you can. If true, wouldn’t that be part of Perry’s record we should be looking at.
Anonymous

Poor Mediaite. It wants to be a respected journalism outlet. But can’t help putting out shallow hit pieces for the DNC. A once promising web site is gradually turning into a joke.
http://capitolcommentary.com Harrison

BFD companies already take out life insurance plans on employees:

http://deadpeasantinsurance.com/which-employers-bought-policies-on-the-lives-of-employees/

And nice smear that Perry let someone innocent go to death in TX.

If you have a problem with the death penalty take it up with the judiciary.

Can’t wait to read the next hack job story from you.
Anonymous

No I didn’t. Objecting to a life insurance scheme as described in the article is not a liberal or conservative proposition. You are assuming things not in evidence.

The article is about something very specific that you have still failed to address at all. The point made about regulations is that named specific regulations were put in place to address specific unethical practices that were happening in the real world. So, there’s no check and mate for you until you deal with the specifics of the article.
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

“Is pretty dam relevant in a presidential election wouldn’t you say? ”

Um, Is it?
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

When a credible source picks the story up I’ll give it a go.

Until then I’ll leave it to you to get your news from agenda driven crap.
Nature Freak

I am as mystified as you.

WTF indeed. Barack_Must_Go’s comment is beyond hyperbole and falls into the realm of science fiction (and bad science fiction at that).
Nature Freak

I think so.
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

You were talking about over-regulation vs regulation when you made your “the rest of us” crack.

Perry’s plan perfectly illustrates the need for what he calls “over-regulation,” but what the rest of us call “regulation.”
Do I really need to quote your own words to you, idiot?
Nature Freak

I presume you have no problem with cooperations polluting the environment. The American people by your standards should be powerless to prevent massive pollution from happening. After all, all regulation is bad!

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1642
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/after_the_flames_the_story_beh.html

So you have no problem with the Cuyahoga River fire of 1969?
I guess not. Cooperations have the right to pollute. Regulation is wrong.
Nature Freak

If this is compassionate conservatism, I would sure hate to see the other kind of conservatism.
Anonymous

Once again avoiding a direct honest answer to the details of the article. Source noted.
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

I can “deal with the article” when it comes from a reputable source…

or shall I just link to newsbusters.com and have you “deal” with everything they post as well?

The huff post article is convoluted, innuendo filled garbage. Even the huff post commenters on the article are lamenting the fact that its hardly convincing of what Perry was explicitly doing.

This is the featured comment directly from this huff post article:

MuchMadness 17 hours ago (12:29 AM)

“The Republicans deliberately make their crooked schemes as complicated as possible so that when the schemes are discovered, it will be difficult for Democrats to gain any political advantage from the revelations. After all, it is hard for voters to get too worked up about transgressions that they don’t quite Read More… understand.”

That paranoid rant says it all doesn’t it?
Nature Freak

Tommy Christopher, you really pissed off the Right wing Conservative commentators here at Mediaite with your life insurance and Perry article. You really hit a nerve. A crazed Conservative even made a lame Hitler comparison.

Nice job. The fact they are this upset at you shows how valid your article is. This story has legs.

The Conservatives doth protest too much, methinks.
Anonymous

Yeah, that’s a nice dodge. Fox, Brietbart, and the Blaze are all agenda driven, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get some stories right, and some facts correct. Completely dismissing the truthfulness of the details because of the source is just as agenda driven as those you criticize.
Anonymous

I looks like you’ve got a pretty good take on what happened with this, so called “death bond scheme” despite the lack of some fairly pertinent information in this article.
It seems like Phil Gramm, as a UBS exec., actually spearheaded the efforts to sell this to the retired teachers.
I think part of the blame for attempting to get this though can be laid at the feet of the over promised and under funded teacher’s retirement system. Desperate actions to increase funding for teachers motivated them to take Gramm’s idea seriously.
It seems like the retirees were supposed to be betting on the life expectancy of retirees with this plan. As you said, the longer they live, the more benefit to them.
In the end, I don’t think it was very ethical, but hardly the “ghoulish” master plan portrayed here.
I supposed this article was just meant to de-legitimize efforts to deregulate business to make a better environment for hiring new employees and, of course, to take a smack at one of Obama’s top opponents.
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

“This is what Perry is talking about when he compares the struggles of corporations with the Civil Rights movement: your freedom to have your death become a casino game for Swiss bankers.”

I love how Tommy links to his article about how MSNBC and thinkprogress are coorindating talking points, then he goes ahead and uses the very same talking points and expects to swallow them whole as fact.

Yes you are right Tommy! Rick Perry wants all corporations to place wagers on everyone’s death- it gives new meaning to “rolling bones” doesnt it?

Tommy Christopher, keep up the good work!

Your honest, fact driven jouralism without the hint of hyperbole is refreshing in this era of bloggers who do sloppy work and get duped by someone posing as a teenage girl.
Anonymous

There are an awful lot of facts in that article that can be verified or shown to be false. About the only thing in doubt is Perry’s direct involvement and support which, according to the article, is spelled out by the notes from the meeting and made credible by Perry’s relationship with Gramm.

What some commenter said is irrelevant. Putting together investment packages of life insurance on people you have no direct interest in is just sleazy. Nobody is asking you to deal with everything on HuffPo. You just stopped by of your own volition to dump on Tommy and the article that you can’t really refute in any way other than to dump on the source.
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

Using Nature freak’s own logic, the birther story must have been true! lol.

After all, Obama was rigorously defended by the left, countless hours on MSNBC was devoted to exposing the lies of the birthers. If one day’s worth of comments defending Perry constitute “protesting too much”, then what would you call a solid year of protesting the birther story from the left?

and as Nature Freak explains to us, if you “hit a nerve” it can only mean one thing: you must be guilty. After all, no one feels compelled to defend themselves if they are innocent right?

So either nature freak’s logic is convoluted and inconsistent, or he is a closet birther…who knew?
Anonymous

I have to wonder, if this plan had been implemented, how eager would Texas teachers be to give it up and how hard would they fight to keep it? Anything that threatens retirement funds would definitely come under some pretty severe attacks. Who would be their hero then?
Anonymous

He doesn’t even need the billion dollars. His media partners are doing it, and will do it, for free.
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

If it were Perry on trial, you always have to consider the reputation of the source, and the motivations, if any, for the source to make their claims.

Considering an article like this tries Perry in the court of public opinion and yet doesnt provide names, dates, or facts, it is failing to afford him due process.

But for you he’s guilty before proven innocent is he not? It doesn’t seem like you care in the least about whether or not any of this can be substantiated.

Again, this article fails to prove anything, and you know it. Its an extremely shaky smear piece from something that happened 8 years ago. If there was any creditability to it, dont you think his last two opponents for governor would have pounded it home?
http://twitter.com/BarneyFranken Barney Frankenbama

Hmm..when did Rick Perry announce his candidacy again? Ah right…August.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Royce-Earnest-Jr/515733979 Royce Earnest Jr

Great article! I think the plan us very ghoulish indeed, maybe because I have several teachers in my family. I think a person would have to be extremely ignorant or mentally challenged to vote for someone like Perry. He wouldn’t even be able to graduate college with his grades nowadays. and yes, I think intelligence and education is a major factor for being president. And before you Repubs and Tea partiers get started, if it were anyone besides a Repub, you’d be raising all kinds of hell about them.
Anonymous

The quote is meant to shock, but the sad fact is, that kind of sick,
id-fueled logic appeals to a lot of people, and it’s probably going to
keep him from paying much of a political price over the life insurance
scheme. I have to admit, as I read the details, the part of me that appreciates unfettered cinematic villainy was awed by the comical soullessness of the whole enterprise.

I’m sure you’ll find this article interesting.
Dick Cheney’s Heart of Evil, Psychopathic Political Systems, And The Correct Uses of Social Stigma
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/234167-Dick-Cheney-s-Heart-of-Evil-Psychopathic-Political-Systems-And-The-Correct-Uses-of-Social-Stigma
Anonymous

Of course consider the source. I never said otherwise. That doesn’t mean automatic dismissal. I would be skeptical of something coming from Fox or the Blaze, but that means I would look into it further not dismiss it completely.

What? There are quite a few name dates and facts in the HuffPo article, including quotes from several Texas newspapers. Here’s another bit of info from another HuffPo article.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/26/rick-perry-staffer-insurance-scheme_n_938413.html

WASHINGTON — Texas Governor Rick Perry’s ties to Swiss banking giant
UBS go beyond his relationship with former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas).
Perry’s current chief of staff and top press person for his campaign,
Ray Sullivan, spent five years as a lobbyist for UBS in Texas — a
tenure that began the same year Gramm made his macabre pitch for Perry to enable Wall Street gambling on the deaths of Texas teachers.

When the plan leaked to the press in December 2003, however, the Perry
camp claimed to have had only tangential involvement after receiving an
inquiry from Gramm.

Gramm, a chief architect of the scheme, drew the critical attention
of several Texas newspapers at the time, but Sullivan’s involvement
received much less scrutiny, though his longstanding ties to Perry
create the same appearance of corruption and cronyism.

“Sullivan is classic example of the way Perry works,” explained
Andrew Wheat, research director with Texans for Public Justice. “There’s
a coterie of insiders that move back and forth between the governor’s
office, the governor’s campaign and the corporate lobby. … It’s a
beautiful relationship for everybody except the public.”

Seems like an easy fact to verify or disprove. This isn’t about due process. When vetting a candidate it’s about separating the facts from the inevitable political spin and making a value judgement.

But for you he’s guilty before proven innocent is he not? It doesn’t
seem like you care in the least about whether or not any of this can be
substantiated.

It seems that most of it is substantiated. The only question is how involved was Perry and there seems to be good reason to doubt his claim of “barely involved”
Sure , I have my bias which means I am more likely to believe it. I’m also willing to look at any facts that contradict it. If it is a smear as you say , which would mean it’s false, then it should be easy for one of the conservative sources I mentioned to expose the lies. We’ll see if that happens.

Again ,absolute proof is not required, the court of public opinion is how vetting candidates works. Given the amount of quotes and easily checked detail I disagree with your assessment of shaky. You may have seen me post that I think our {average Americans} common enemy is corruption rather than political ideology. What’s described in the article is an example of that IMO. We don’t do ourselves any good by living in a echo chamber where we believe the sources we like and utterly dismiss the ones we don’t.
HawkCW4

No and they dont have to as long as they disagree with your politics. I doubt all Liberals think alike on all matters, and neither do all Republicans. But they mostly agree on most Conservative Principles. And Please, just because most Republicans will tell you they believe in family/moral values, dont mean they walk on water, they just try harder than 90% of Liberals.
Zermatt2

Rick Parry is bought by big business. He doesn’t care about people unless it benefits him and his wealthy buddies. A few years ago, Parry awarded a license to WCS, a company owned by billionaire Harold Simmons. The license was to dispose of low level nuclear wastes somewhere in Texas.

Simmons has given millions to Republicans, including at least $1.2M to Rick Parry. He gave much money to Reagan and Gingrich in the 1980s. He gave money to the defense fund of Oliver North. He is giving some $1M to the George Bush library.

Simmons has been fined for exceeding campaign contribution limits. His own daughter once outed him for paying her so that he could use her name to donate money to Republicans.

Texas state geologists and engineers objected before the license was awarded. Geologists were concerned that the nuclear waste, even though it was low level, could seep into the ground water. In spite of all of the objections, the Executive Director of Texas’ Commission on Environmental Quality, Glenn Shankle, did award that license. Further, while all of the discussion about awarding this license was taking place, WCS proposed that only one license be awarded for Texas.

In 2008, Glenn Shankle took a job as a lobbyist for WCS.

Parry is corrupt. He deals in death. One of Harold Simmons’ companies, NL Industries, has been involved in a number of lawsuits in an attempt to get it to pay into the SuperFund to clean up contaminated sites around the country.

If Parry were to become POTUS, we’d have more of this types of environmental disasters waiting to happen, especially since Parry wants to eliminate the EPA.
Anonymous

Funny thing to say since you don’t really know what my politics are, or that of the 90% you mention.
I think as we get away from the extremes and moderates get closer tom the center I’ll think you’ll find people have more in common. I judge the issues separately based on facts and my personal views. I have no idea what family/moral values are. It’s an empty catch phrase. Do you seriously think liberals are immoral and don’t value their families? Both, labels, Liberal and conservative are vague generalities when it comes to real people. I know liberals who are fiscally conservative and conservatives and libertarians who a socially liberal on issues of SSM and the personal choice of abortion. There are liberals who would support assistance programs for the poor but do not support abortion.
It’s past time we got away from inaccurate generalities and learned how to communicate.
Anonymous

Rick Perry is a good person, a very nice naive good
person. This is not the Guy we want protecting US Citizens from Ruthless
Foreign Associates or Domestic Ruthless Associates. These Associates I speak of
are the everyday people in all walks of life whom I must associate with in
business, finance, government, or on the streets of America. When I go to
Heaven, if Rick Perry is there, then and only then will I associate myself with
Rick Perry, until then I will vote for Obama as the better of any choice I have
seen out there yet. If you love America as I do, Vote for Obama, if you love
Bernie Madoff, vote for the people who were friends to Bernie Madoff, but you
can’t take it with you anymore than Bernie Madoff did.
ganymede

While it’s difficult to take any of these wonderful Republican aspirants to the presidency seriously, it’s obvious Perry has struck a very responsive chord in the hearts of rightwingers. They’re all unqualified to be in any responsible position anywhere, but Perry is turning out to be the worst of them all. Despite his ‘executive’ experience in running a state, he is definitely a person of low moral character. To care so little for life by betting on the death of retired teachers, to executing more people than any one else in modern times, and to being an utter slave of Wall St and the worst industrialists, he doesn’t seem to have a scintilla of compassion for ordinary people unless they’re low lifes like himself. The positive response he’s getting from the rightwingers and reactionaries is because they see in Perry themselves, and they like it! Was the same story with Bush except that Bush was a notch or two above this character. I juist don’t see Perry making it on a national scale. We haven’t sunk that low yet.
http://www.thefriendcenter.com/ SoThere

Obama’s qualifications were stellar. The results have been outstanding.

“TMP”
NoOne

… maybe I’m missing something, but what IS the problem with people being able to purchase life insurance on a third party? It just seems like gambling to me. Given that I believe gambling should be legal, why should I be bothered by this?