North Carolina lawmakers are considering legislation to permit the investment of state funds in cryptocurrencies. (Photo illustration by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Successful management of the massive investment funds that the state of North Carolina maintains is no small or easy job. But it’s also not rocket science.
Many states have done quite well for decades with a standard mix of moderate-to-conservative public and private investments.
Weirdly, however, this simple, commonsense approach regularly runs afoul of right-wing paranoia and sends many conservative politicians turning to gut hunches and fringe theories.
Former state treasurer Dale Folwell lost millions during his tenure by keeping disproportionate sums in cash.
In the last General Assembly, a group of GOP lawmakers proposed establishing a state gold bullion depository.
And now new state treasurer Brad Briner wants to invest big sums in cryptocurrency.
What’s next? Investing the state retirement fund in a multi-level marketing scheme?
The bottom line: Notwithstanding the crazy claims of late night TV and radio ads, the American economy has proven fundamentally strong over several decades. And our state investments should be premised on this simple reality.
For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.