I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation
and is but a reflection of human frailty.
Albert Einstein
Image of the Day
Speculating On the Inevitable Bankruptcy of Chicago and Illinois
I generally choose shorter clips, but on weekends, many of my sources don't publish. I've retained an interest in Illinois politics, although I left the state in 2004 (and have moved to 4 states since then). I came across this clip through a conservative/libertarian news alert source that Tom Woods mentioned in his emails a few weeks back. (I have a lukewarm feeling about the source in general; for example, it covered sources insisting Trump won the popular vote.) Just to give a quick understanding, public sector pensions are all but insolvent as overpromised benefits and an expanding baby boomer retiree class have outstripped growth in public revenues. Corrupt public union benefits, backed by a "progressive" Illinois Supreme Court which has overruled even tepid pension reform, have led to counterproductive tax increases (e.g., property tax rates up to 3 times that of many other states), families leaving the state, etc. The city and state are paying sky-high interest rates (up to 12% or more) to finance an ever-expanding debt, and this game of musical chairs will likely come to the point of no return, as tax rates are not competitive. Bankruptcy may be the only thing that finally frees the state and local government from unsustainable, corrupt pension obligations. The discussants expect that a likely outcome is trimming especially the larger payouts, e.g., multi-million pension obligations to school superintendents and the like.
Parasitic Lawyers
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Bob Gorrell via Townhall |
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists
Pat Benatar, "All Fired Up". This marks the end of my Benatar retrospective. Next up: Tom Petty.
