At a forum sponsored last evening by the Providence Republican City Committee, Gary Morse (no relation), the primary advisor to 2010 Republican Gubernatorial candidate John Robitaille on the subject of pension issues, delivered a talk titled “Rhode Island’s Rising Pension Tide”. The Providence Republicans promised that this would be a non-partisan forum, and Mr. Morse delivered.

Mr. Morse used a significant portion of his speaking time to go into serious detail about the evolution of pension law and of pension systems in the US, and the resulting constraints that will shape the possible choices as we move forward…

1. The meaning of “the discount rate” and its value.	Audio: 1m 11 sec
&nbsp&nbsp The troubles with the discount rate, including spiking.	Audio: 1m 54 sec
&nbsp&nbsp How much does spiking cost the taxpayers? &nbsp	Audio: 32 sec
2. The changes to pension law and pension practice that occurred in 1991 and 2006. &nbsp	(1) Audio: 1m 19 sec; (2) Audio: 1m 56 sec; (3) Audio: 2m 58 sec &nbsp
3. How what has happened in a place called Pritchard, Alabama could impact Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceedings in a place called Central Falls, Rhode Island. &nbsp	Audio: 2m 45 sec
4. Some suggested reading, if you’re interested in how the courts might decide the pending Council 94 lawsuit. &nbsp	Audio: 42 sec
5. The role that debt played in the Suez crisis of 1956, and its parallels to today. &nbsp	Audio: 1m 45 sec
6. A not-very-rosy prediction for everyone’s future.	Audio: 1m 32 sec