Key Points
- Economic Uncertainty: Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA) CEO David Bronner warns that President Donald Trump’s unpredictable policies on tariffs and immigration are creating significant economic instability.
- Strong Current Performance: Despite the concerns, Alabama’s pension funds are performing well, with the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) fund growing 8.7% and the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) fund growing 8.54% this fiscal year.
- Tariff Controversy: A pending Supreme Court case on the legality of Trump’s tariffs adds to the uncertainty, with billions of dollars in collected revenue at stake.
- Immigration Policy Impact: Bronner criticizes the administration’s crackdown on law-abiding, long-term undocumented workers, arguing it harms the workforce and economy.
- Call for Stability: The RSA chief emphasizes that businesses need consistency and stability to invest, a condition he says is currently absent.
The massive $17 billion pension fund that supports thousands of Alabama’s public employees is performing exceptionally well nearly eight months into President Donald Trump’s second term. However, the man who has managed it for over fifty years is sounding the alarm about the serious economic risks looming on the horizon.
David Bronner, the long-serving CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), expressed grave concerns about the instability being caused by the Trump administration’s unpredictable policies, particularly regarding tariffs and immigration.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen in the near future, so businessmen as a whole just don’t know what to do,” Bronner stated during a quarterly meeting of the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) board. “You don’t have what we would call in the markets consistency. We don’t have stability.”
Strong Returns in a Volatile Climate
Despite Bronner’s warnings, the pension funds have shown remarkable resilience. Marc Green, RSA’s deputy director of investments, reported that the ERS fund has grown by an impressive 8.7% this fiscal year, slightly outpacing its 10-year average growth of 7.99%. Last year alone, the fund paid out $1.4 billion in benefits to approximately 60,000 retirees.
The larger Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) fund, valued at $32.9 billion, has seen similar success, growing by 8.54%. These solid numbers follow a record-breaking year for the funds in 2024.
“It has been astounding considering the daily headlines and how they change the next day,” Green remarked. “So trying to figure out what your game plan is, it changes by the week or the hour.”
The Tariff and Immigration Dilemmas
Bronner, who has known President Trump for three decades, pinpointed two key areas of concern that are creating a chilling effect on business investment.
The High-Stakes Tariff Battle
The administration’s aggressive use of tariffs has left companies uncertain about the cost of doing business, making them hesitant to invest in new projects. This uncertainty is compounded by a major case set to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in November, which will rule on whether Trump exceeded his authority by unilaterally imposing the tariffs.
The stakes are astronomically high. The Treasury Department estimates it will have collected between $750 billion and $1 trillion from these tariffs by next summer. Bronner questioned how the court would navigate the issue.
“He’s been collecting billions of dollars from them. He’d have to pay them back if the court rules that you did this illegally,” Bronner said. “So I don’t know how the Supremes will try to wiggle their way around that one.”
Impact of Immigration Crackdowns
Bronner also criticized the administration’s approach to immigration. While he stated that no one opposes removing undocumented immigrants who commit crimes, he argued that applying the same harsh measures to the entire workforce is detrimental.
“These people who have been here 10 years, 15 years, never did a damn thing except feed their family and work and pay their taxes as legal as you could get, other than they came improperly 20, 30 years ago in some cases,” Bronner explained.
A Call for Government Oversight
In his address to the board, Bronner also singled out the legislative branch for its inaction, placing some of the blame on a failure of oversight.
“You have a Senate in Washington that are simply not doing their job,” he asserted. “They’re supposed to look over everything for us as American citizens, but they haven’t.”
Ultimately, Bronner’s message was a cautionary tale: current financial success is not a guarantee of future stability. The persistent state of flux makes long-term financial planning a dangerous gamble. “From a businessman’s point of view of investing money,” he concluded, “why do I want to do anything besides sit?”
Image Referance: https://www.al.com/politics/2025/09/rsa-chief-trumps-unpredictable-moves-threaten-stability-of-alabamas-17-billion-pension-fund.html
