An opinion piece written by Maynard-Knox Professor of Government and Law Frank Anechiarico '71 appeared in the Sunday, May 25, edition of Newsday. "Why strip a person's pension?" addressed the issue of whether or not a former New York schools superintendent who is serving prison time for stealing $2.2 million from the schools, should be receiving a pension from the state.
As Anechiarico's subtitle, "It may satisfy the public's need for justice when an official's a felon, but it's unfair and unwise," implied, the op-ed's answer was "yes." Anechiarico wrote, "…such outsize penalties [withholding a pension] produce overly cautious, self-protective officials in agencies where the level of paranoia is already fairly high, thanks to the state's enormous expansion of the list of corrupt acts since the mid-1970s." He added, "Unchecked, such corruption can undermine public trust and raise skepticism about honest policy initiatives - if it doesn't make everyone so cynical that they turn away from civil society completely. But in fighting the infection, we don't want to make the patient's overall health worse." He suggested that, "A more fair and fruitful path is for state lawmakers to ramp up efforts to prevent corruption with more and better trained inspectors general, audits targeted to uncover fraud, and more in-depth public oversight hearings."
As Anechiarico's subtitle, "It may satisfy the public's need for justice when an official's a felon, but it's unfair and unwise," implied, the op-ed's answer was "yes." Anechiarico wrote, "…such outsize penalties [withholding a pension] produce overly cautious, self-protective officials in agencies where the level of paranoia is already fairly high, thanks to the state's enormous expansion of the list of corrupt acts since the mid-1970s." He added, "Unchecked, such corruption can undermine public trust and raise skepticism about honest policy initiatives - if it doesn't make everyone so cynical that they turn away from civil society completely. But in fighting the infection, we don't want to make the patient's overall health worse." He suggested that, "A more fair and fruitful path is for state lawmakers to ramp up efforts to prevent corruption with more and better trained inspectors general, audits targeted to uncover fraud, and more in-depth public oversight hearings."
