Newspapers across the state have commented on the Forbes exposé in which N.C. Treasurer Richard Moore is accused of accepting campaign contributions from firms that manage the state's $73 billion retirement system.

That is not illegal, and the contributions seem modest compared to the money often spent in campaigns.

But Forbes also mentions the failure of Moore's office to provide timely reports of how the $73 billion is invested. Under Harlan Boyles, the reports came out regularly; now, the most recent that can be viewed online is for 2004-2005.

I used to be dismayed at Boyles' excessively conservative management of the pension investments, nearly all in AAA bonds. But I was far more dismayed when I discovered several years ago that most of the fund is now in equities, some speculative. I cannot report accurately on the current situation because the report is unreadable. The figures appear deliberately blurred.

North Carolina pension funds are the best in the country, being over-funded by about 8 percent. In the event of a serious bear market, however, that over-funding will vanish. The fund could lose $10 billion or more. Few retirees realize that 60 percent of their assets are in the stock market.

Tom Kirby-Smith
Greensboro