California State Treasurer Phil Angelides has a new plan to help build up the state's roads, water supply, and other infrastructure. The candidate for Governor says state pension funds could be the answer. Sacramento reporter Marianne Russ has the story.
Angelides proposes the retirement systems for public employees and teachers invest five percent of their assets - or about 15 billion dollars total - in public works projects the kinds he says would generate income from things like user fees:
Angelides: Toll bridges and tunnels, energy transmission projects and energy conservation retrofits in public buildings.
It's an unconventional but not hare-brained idea, says Brad Barber, a Professor of Finance at UC Davis but the but the bottom line is always getting the best return on investment :
Barber: This is true for stocks, it's true for bonds, and it'll be true for infrastructure as well.
A spokesperson with the state's public employees system agrees, and says this is an issue the board will have to take up.
