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Law and Economics

Boston University School of Law

Faculty Scholarship

Series

ERISA

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Use And Abuse Of Labor's Capital, David H. Webber Dec 2014

The Use And Abuse Of Labor's Capital, David H. Webber

Faculty Scholarship

The recent financial crisis has jeopardized the retirement savings of twenty-seven million Americans who depend on public pension funds, leading to cuts in benefits, increased employee contributions, job losses, and the rollback of legal rights like collective bargaining. This Article examines ways in which public pension funds invest against the economic interests of their own participants and beneficiaries, and the legal implications of these investments. In particular, the Article focuses on the use of public pensions to fund privatization of public employee jobs. Under the ascendant — and flawed — interpretation of the fiduciary duty of loyalty, public pension trustees …


Creeping Impoverization: Material Conditions, Income Inequality, And Erisa Pedagogy Early In The 21st Century, Maria O'Brien May 2007

Creeping Impoverization: Material Conditions, Income Inequality, And Erisa Pedagogy Early In The 21st Century, Maria O'Brien

Faculty Scholarship

To say that poverty remains one of the most pressing issues of our time is a colossal understatement. A staggering number of people on the planet live in poverty. In the United States alone, the working poor and those living at or below the poverty line make up 12.6 percent of our populace.' While these individuals may not all be in imminent danger of starving or homelessness, they often lack basic safeguards that those in the upper socio-economic levels of society take for granted: basic health insurance, access to pension programs, disability coverage, and the certainty of a living wage …