Experts Expound

“There’s trouble brewing at the nearly century-old State Compensation Insurance Fund, a quasi-private entity, where potentially billions of dollars have been spent with scant oversight and little public disclosure. Should the state step in and take it over?”

Let’s see … potentially billions of dollars spent with scant oversight and little public disclosure … sounds like the state Legislature to me. Wouldn’t that be a little like the fox guarding the henhouse?

You think the state can do a better job of running the fund? What are you smoking, crack?

So much for the efficiency of the private sector our Republicans talk so much about. The Legislature should haul the big wheels at SCIF in front of committees and rake them over the coals and go from there.

Since there is so much at stake with the State Fund, more effective state oversight is critical. But it shouldn’t involve just asking an existing state bureaucracy (like Business, Transportation and Housing) to monitor the fund; it should require a highly experienced board with expertise in the area to oversee its operations.

Wow, is that a question?

So the federal government doesn’t have a monopoly on this kind of incompetence? That might rile a few Dems around here. Send in FEMA.

Egad, stewards from the private sector put greed and personal gain ahead of the public interest. If we let this continue, these folks are gonna give “bidness” a bad name. Government may be inefficient, but in the main, government isn’t a crook. More and more, “business” is becoming a synonym for “bad behavior.” I say throw the bums out.

Absolutely, history has shown us that the legislature does an excellent job of righting the ship. With our outstanding ability to balance budgets and stand up to the insurance industry, we are exceptionally well qualified to clean up this mess.

“God bless the people of California for recalling me from public office so I can enjoy life. Good luck with that budget crisis …”

This is a no-brainer. Without direct state oversight, the place is a cesspool. The state has to take it over.

Workers’ Comp is a political hot potato already; state (i.e. “political”) takeover, NO; greater oversight and more observant leadership, YES. Let Sen. Dean “The Shark” Florez and his sidekick Bob Alvarez hold hearings on the State Fund. That might actually be interesting and productive.

A state takeover would screw it up more. What’s needed is better accountability and oversight to make sure it’s run effectively.

The people from whom we sought opinions: Andrew Acosta, A.G. Block, Mark Bogetich, Barry Brokaw, Deborah Gonzalez, Kathy Fairbanks, Dan Schnur, Sam Sorich, J. Dale Debber, Jason Kinney, Matt Ross, Mike Madrid, Kevin Spillane, Morgan Crinklaw, Ralph Simoni, Garry South, Ray Sotero, Richard Zeiger, Peter DeMarco, Adam Probolsky, Barbara O’Connor, Jim Evans, Rex Frazier, Jeff Fuller, Kassy Perry, Adam Mendelsohn, Ken Gibson, Bill Packer, Jack Pitney, Sandy Harrison, Steve Maviglio, Nicole Mahrt, Will Shuck, Bob Hertzberg, Evan Goldberg, Roger Salazar, Matt Rexroad, Tony Quinn.