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Girard Miller

Girard Miller

Finance Columnist

Girard Miller is the finance columnist for Governing. He is a retired investment and public finance professional and the author of “Enlightened Public Finance” (2019). Miller brings 30 years of experience in public finance and investments as a former Governmental Accounting Standards Board member and ICMA Retirement Corp. president.

Miller writes Governing's bi-weekly newsletter on public finance, which you can sign up for here.

He can be reached at millergirard@yahoo.com. 

Private equity interests have lurked behind the skirts of public pensions to dodge higher income taxes. Now Big Tech moguls are trying to play public servants for patsies to fight stronger federal antitrust laws.
As with pension fund divestment policies, it’s tempting for states and local governments to blacklist companies over their public policy stances. But it’s the taxpayers who are likely to be the collateral damage losers.
With government workers’ pay raises lagging the private sector’s, state and local officials will need to navigate through different measures of inflation to fairly calibrate wage and pension increases.
A long-running lawsuit alleging collusion in the securities lending industry may be heading for class-action status. That could be a big deal not only for pension funds nationwide but also for the future of a $2.5 trillion marketplace.
State and local finance teams need game plans for two divergent outcomes of the Federal Reserve’s efforts to wring inflation out of the economy: a soft-landing slowdown or a more severe downturn.
If stocks keep declining, the outlook for pension obligation bonds improves. State and local financial teams should prepare now for a cyclical opportunity.
Recent investment losses have highlighted provisions that are missing from most municipal money management contracts: full disclosure of the downside and stronger risk controls.
Mass shootings are costing governments, schools and families billions. Those who sell, buy and harbor AR-15-style firearms and other pseudo-military killing machines should bear the financial burden.
Rising interest rates have triggered substantial market losses from Golden State treasurers’ untimely investments of idle cash. It’s time for reforms wherever similar portfolios are now bleeding red ink.
If autocracy is moving the world toward deglobalization, geopolitical investment principles should complement environmental, social and governance factors. There’s a lot for pension boards and investment managers to keep in mind.