The initiative had enough signatures to qualify. It would have forced city pension funds to divest from corporations that assist the American military presence in Iraq or that provide direct material support to the Israeli government within the occupied territories.

But a judge ruled that the initiative was invalid because city voters do not have the right to make investment choices for city pension fund. Only the board overseeing the funds can do that.

The Forward reports on plans for a municipal ballot initiative in Seattle that would require city pension funds to divest from companies that do business in Israel or profit from the Iraq war. The specific investments being targeted involve Halliburton (the military contractor doing big business in Iraq) and Caterpillar (which sells a lot of bulldozers in Israel). Whatever your views on Israel and Iraq, this initiative should concern you. Do voters really want to use their city to make foreign policy statements? (Yes, San Francisco, you can put your hand down now). You may like the foreign policy now, but you may not like the future foreign policy. And cities have enough to worry about in setting local policy. Second, and more significant, turning pension funds into instruments of policy is a high-risk idea with potentially disastrous consequences for taxpayers. American cities have such a problem with unfunded pension liabilities that such funds would do well to focus exclusively on maximizing returns.