Rahm Emanuel's Chicago Nears Fiscal Free Fall

Investor's Business Daily ^ | March 2, 2015 | IBD EDITORIALS

[raptor22]

ities: The problem with socialism, Margaret Thatcher once noted, is you eventually run out of other people's money. In progressive Chicago, that's hit home as Moody's has cut its credit rating to two grades above "junk."

Chicago's finances are staggering under the weight of an unfunded pension liability that Moody's Investors Service has estimated at $32 billion, eight times the city's operating revenue.

Chicago has a $300 million structural deficit. And Illinois law requires the city to up its 2016 contributions to its police and fire pension funds by $550 million.

"This is an unfortunate wake-up call for anyone still asleep over the fiscal cliff facing the city of Chicago," said Laurence Msall, president of the Chicago-based government finance watchdog, the Civic Federation.

The steady financial decline of the nation's third-largest city prompted us recently to say that Chicago was well on its way to becoming the next Detroit.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Unfortunately for Rahmbo, capitalism produces the things Lefties wish to redistribute.

[SandRat]

They can koin Detroit.

[fatnotlazy]

That's ok. The feds can just print more money.

[9thLife]

Isn’t that exactly what Lucifer, Alinsky, and Cloward-Priven would have happen?

[Always A Marine]

If there weren’t a dozen other major crises occurring at the same time, Chicago’s pending default would be earth shattering.

[stars & stripes forever]

Don’t be surprised to see more casinos in Chicago to pay of the debt.

[icwhatudo]

They can also “restructure” the debt and force bond holders to take a “haircut” and all the other BS terms that mean they won’t pay their bills.

[from occupied ga]

Not to worry. 0bama will work it so that the rest of us bail out the nasty little police city/state on the lake

[EvilCapitalist]

A Chick-fil-a would have been a nice addition to the economy of Chicago. But remember what Rahm said, Chick-fil-a’s values are not Chicago’s values.

[9thLife]

If there weren’t a dozen other major crises occurring at the same time, Chicago’s pending default would be earth shattering.

So right. As it is, a failure and subsequent bailout(s) wouldn't even make it above the fold of the Times.

[SandRat]

[pierrem15]

Emmanuel has been edging around slashing the city's pension obligations and/or public payroll-- but the public employee unions are the biggest supporters of the Dems, so he's been biting the hand that feeds him.

My guess is the machine will try to work with Rauner to find some back-door way to stiff the unions and try to blame it on the Republicans.

That's why some unions like the teacher's union want voters to vote for Jesus: Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, that is, the Mexican communist.

They've been yammering about a financial transaction tax on the CME, CBOT and CBOE for years-- if they try that the exchanges will be out of Chicago so fast you'll be able to hear the sucking sound as money and jobs disappear. Chicago would really turn into Detroit in about 5 years after that.

[lurk]

The way they make money on parking fees and enforcement, Chicago ought to be as wealthy as Dubai.

[raptor22]

IBD EDITORIAL PING

[pierrem15]

The could make more money if they legalized prostitution, but Springfield already has a monopoly on that.

[RedMDer]

Let's get this done!
Less than $4.4k to go!!

[RedMDer]

The could make more money if they legalized prostitution

They're already working in City Hall /s

[MeganC]

Chicago can neither tax nor fine itself into prosperity.

[Zhang Fei]

They've been yammering about a financial transaction tax on the CME, CBOT and CBOE for years-- if they try that the exchanges will be out of Chicago so fast you'll be able to hear the sucking sound as money and jobs disappear. Chicago would really turn into Detroit in about 5 years after that.

They'll pay for a few years while making arrangements to leave. I wonder where they would move, though.