As of 2014 Public Employee Pension Assets had nearly $788 Billion in Direct or Indirect Equity Investments in both publicly listed and privately held investments...
Does anyone believe that Government's DON'T try to prop up the businesses owned by funds that ultimately fall on taxpayers to make up differences.
The levels of cronyism and corruption we see throughtout all levels of Government, in large part, is driven by the ownership of these same companies by the public employee pension funds. If the companies go bankrupt, and the pensions become insolvent - cities and states could find themselves unable to pay the pension liabilities. Mayors, Governors, City Council Members, State House Members, and Federal Government's elected officials are not Naive to this fact. If they are I PROMISE the CEO of the companies, whose equity they own, remind them everytime they lobby for a favor that'll push competition underwater permanently.