It's called the Chicago Way ... where we hike taxes ... cut services, ... cave in to unions ... pander to blacks and gays ... pretend we can solve our crime problem by confiscating guns ... and assume that we won't end up like Detroit!
Posted on 07/28/2013 6:24:32 AM PDT by Zakeet
Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed the books on 2012 with $33.4 million in unallocated cash on hand — down from $167 million the year before — while adding to the mountain of debt piled on Chicago taxpayers, year-end audits show.
Last week, Moody’s Investors ordered an unprecedented triple-drop in the city’s bond rating, citing Chicago’s “very large and growing” pension liabilities, “significant” debt service payments, “unrelenting public safety demands” and historic reluctance to raise local taxes that has continued under Emanuel.
The 2012 city audits explain why.
[Snip]
The audits by the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche provide a treasure trove of information about city finances and operations.
Interesting nuggets include:
[Snip]
[Snip]
By July 31, Emanuel must release a preliminary city budget. It’s almost certain to include another massive deficit — strengthening the city’s case in contract talks with city unions — that will have to be closed with more layoffs, service cuts and new revenues.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
It's called the Chicago Way ... where we hike taxes ... cut services, ... cave in to unions ... pander to blacks and gays ... pretend we can solve our crime problem by confiscating guns ... and assume that we won't end up like Detroit!
In a recent post someone fretted that there isn’t any way to short municipal bonds. I betting there isn’t as well but you never know. If we have a smart Freeper out there who knows how then he/she should spread that knowledge around.
They will do their best to make it Detroit
It may be called the Chicago Way but it started in California.
As they say here how California goes so does the rest of the country.
For every democrat controlled state it’s the golden rule.
If water “use” rises but water utility billing receipts don’t, your ancient municipal water system is failing.
The city population certainly isn’t rising and neither is industrial usage.
Ka-ching. Wonder if the “usage” of the city sewer system is “rising” too?
Probably.
It may be called the Chicago Way but it started in California.
********
Seems that it has now become the the National Way.
Strangely, Chicago’s population increased to 2,714,856 in 2012 from 2,695,598 in the 2010 census.
Young people are moving back to the downtown area. We’ll see if they can survive the taxes.
Thanks Zakeet.
I think surviving the taxes might be the least of their worries. They need to survive the blazing guns.
There are or were some very beautiful residential highrises dotting the Lake Michigan waterfront. I can see why it might be tempting to young singles. I thought about it myself in the nineties, being in the printing and direct marketing business with the Chicago metro being something of a mecca for that at the time. It’s coming apart now, though. Pity. It was a pretty city, north of the forties at least. It won’t be taxation that runs them off so long as they’re paid enough to cover their bills, they’re sort of stupid that way with stars in their eyes about big city living, it’ll be street crime.
it was not until relatively recently, the past couple decades, that the city even tried to collect for water usage. in some areas of the city these are still no water meters installed. even among those with meters, many just ignore paying the bills and the city does very little to collect.
Agree
Its legal to carry a gun and defend yourself with it in Detroit.
That “increase” is so minimal, it’s almost irrelevent.
Detroit solved some of their problems by passing a resolution supporting Trayvon... changing the subject.. distracted the lower classes. Then Chicago could borrow money to build a multi-million dollar sports stadium so people could take their minds off living in a sinking hellhole. Might work../s
Chicago is about to experience its “1975”.
Chicago is a sanctuary city.
Well, there is, but only as an indirect way. You could look for a muni bond ETF that has significant exposure in its portfolio to Chicago paper.
There are ways available to the big players (like buying CDS’) but those aren’t available to the retail investor.
It may be called the Chicago Way but it started in California.
Before Tammany Hall in New York?
Many nights I tune in to the Chicago PD police scanner to listen in. It is not a city, it is a war zone. The angst, outcry and pants pooping over Zimmerman/Martin is a farce when the blacks in Chicago are murdering and maiming each other at a rate that is stunning.
See too, if they survive too many flash mob attacks. There are reports that the gangs are coming up out of the south side and the west side, and doing flash mob attacks on Michigan Avenue and the Near North Side areas. This is a wealthy area of Chicago.
And it’s not just Chicago. The gangs appear to be getting bolder, and more willing to come out of the ghetto and do what they do.
But Sharpton, Jackson, etc. don’t care if Negro youth kill other Negro youth. They only care if a white Hispanic kills a Negro youth. Then we have to have a meltdown over alleged racism and all that.
I’m really surprised the liberals decided to take this Zimmerman case, and make it a symbol of racism and profiling and all that. It’s becoming more known now that Trayvon was not a choir boy, and was indeed a gang banger in training. Some of that will come out, if there is a civil rights trial. Some of that will also come out, if Trayvon’s parents sue for a wrongful death judgement.
When they’re through knocking off each other there what keeps them from spreading to other cities? Normal people won’t have a chance of defending themselves from those who want to rob and torture between killings.
0skunk wants to do his part by putting blacks in ‘prosperous’ neighborhoods.
My neighborhood blacks seem to be normal folk but 0 wants to fix that. He keeps stoking the fires.
There aren’t any inverse muni ETFs (yet), but you can short any of the many positive muni ETFs.
Having learned nothing from the demise of Detroit, the road to hell begins to look like a freeway.
The people living in those areas are rabid Democrats. They can and do afford private security. Probably they aren’t hiring personal guards to accompany them everywhere, but they could afford that if they needed to.
The ones I have known would never ever own a gun, carry a gun or use a gun. They will never admit to having been wrong, made a mistake or contributed to their own abuse.
They will shell out for security and never address the problem.
...it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses.
Zimbabwe on Lake Michigan
It's like a Viking raid in '92 Caprice.
Here comes another Detroit. Its just a matter of time.
It's somewhat ironic how people criticize San Francisco. (Yeah, it's the gay minority that has control). But it's actually grown safer and richer, having lost more than half it's black population over the last 30 years or so, much of that from disappearing ghettos. From about 14 percent to about 6 percent now. There may be a correlation in terms of race relations and growth of a city. Just saying...
A thread here on FR a couple of days ago asked hich city (cities) would be next to declare bankruptcy....
I named
Chicago
Sacramento
St Louis
Houston
Kansas City, Missouri
Oakland
Vallejo- which already has some sort of bankruptcy running
Portland, Ore
In CA it started in the mid sixties.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.