Leads the way to fiscal meltdown:
The state of Illinois — broke, overleveraged, and still refusing to get its accounts in order — is up to something interesting: selling bonds to meet its pension obligations. As one of the many states that refuse to set aside adequate money to fund its public-employee pensions, Illinois is headed to the debt markets to raise $3.7 billion for pension liabilities to get it through the year. This is a double dip: In January, Illinois sold $2.4 billion in bonds for pension obligations. Actually, make that a triple dip: It sold $10 billion in bonds to fund its pension liabilities in 2003. “States don’t traditionally fund their pensions with debt,” says CNN in a nice bit of understatement, “but the practice frees up other money that can be used for operations.” The double whammy here is that Illinois’s pensions are in trouble because it already spent the money it needed for its pension contributions in past years on other spending: Which is to say, Illinois is borrowing money it will have to repay eventually to repay the pension money it already spent to pay for other spending it couldn’t afford then and can’t afford now. If you’re wondering where Barack Obama developed his fiscal finesse, you don’t have far to look.
And wasn’t it nice of them to send him to Washington where he can do the same thing to the rest of us?
During a major fiscal crisis the US elected a lawyer to be president. Are there any significant politicians on the horizon, from either side of the isle, with a background in real world economics (not the academic and not the too big to fail nationalized kind)? Or is it just lawyers all the way down?
Pete, Try Gary Johnson, built a business from one man to 1K employees.
Was Republican Governor of NM for two terms and vetoed 750 bills.
(NM has term limits)
He is making noises and actions that look like he will run for the Republican Presidential Nomination. Click on my name for his organizations web site.
I’m still embarrassed to admit I’m from there, and rapidly moving towards ashamed.
If we can’t vet the candidate (which is obviously too hard for the media… boo hoo) perhaps in the future we could vet the state?
From the title “The Land of Obama,” I was thinking at first that there was economic meltdown in his “home country of Kenya.”
Just quoting his wife…
Kenya’s probably going to look like Galt’s Gulch after Obama gets through with his adopted country.
Maybe we need an amendment that would add to the requirements for president. One must have owned and operated a private business that not only produced a profit but paid wages to real living employees. Having someone in the the most powerful position in the world should be someone who understand what it takes to make a budget and at least meet a bottom line.
Who are the crazies that are lending their money to my great state?
Yes, Josh, because if there is anything I’ve learned from reading this blog, it is that you can solve problems by passing ever more restrictive laws!
🙂
Because your last president had a great track record in business too didn’t he…
“Because your last president had a great track record in business too didn’t he…”
Yes, as with President Harry S Truman, George W Bush’s life had been tested by business failure and both these men became stronger for it.
Paul. I never thought of a parallels, but now that you’ve mentioned it, it’s obvious (at least to me.) That one runs deep. Well done.
Sounds like bat shit insane policy. Unfortunately as people get more fixated in short term results versus long term stability this is the kind of thing which happens. Another thing that comes to mind to me was the Air Force tanker lease deal which got canned some years ago.
You do not ask for a loan, unless it is for an investment into an asset which will generate some kind of future return that will pay back the loan and more. You do not ask for a loan to pay salaries, pensions, or any other ongoing expenses. Unless you are in Hollywood at least.
Is Daveon saying that Bush II’s lack of business experience was a good thing? I mean, because it’s a similarity to Obama, whom Daveon likes? And that Daveon thinks the Bush II presidency was a success, like Obama’s? Man, my head is spinning–this is like looking at an Escher print while stoned. Cosmic, dude.
Bilwick1, you know what they say about staring into the abyss too long…
A single six year term for president with bi-yearly no-confidence votes is starting to sound better and better each day.
Errr Mr. Thompson.. that would mean we would be stuck with O until 2014… and that he’d have no incentive at all to control his socialist leanings.
I know it seems to violate libertarian principles but this is something that targets just one office and a small group of people that seek it.
Daveon, this is precisely why I added the, “and make a profit” qualifier because I was thinking of George. Regardless, this does make me wonder about those liberals who often derided Bush II for his poor business acumen. Then those liberals turned around and voted for someone that hadn’t so much as ran a lemonade stand (note the private business qualifier so his campaign doesn’t count). At this point, if were just voting on someone for their ability to sell themselves, I think P Diddy could hold it together better than Obama. At least Diddy runs a successful clothing business and continually reinvents himself as we see he is moving into the liquor business. Obama is little more than a one trick pony, “Me Me Me”, and it an embarrassment to no end.
Prez P-Ditty: a Ciroc in every liquor cabinet.
One must have owned and operated a private business that not only produced a profit but paid wages to real living employees.
Doesn’t require a law, just voters that care. Perhaps we need a Jimmy Carter every forty years or so to remind us?
Josh: “I know it seems to violate libertarian principles but this is something that targets just one office and a small group of people that seek it.”
Me: I’d say it targets every voter. We the people are the ones who would be (even further) restricted from voting for the candidate of our choice.
CMA has Ill at 24% for default. Change we can believe in.
Oh, and looks like BP has the leak under control, and all before Reid could introduce Cap-n-Tax to enrich ‘Bama’s friends at the Chicago Carbon Exchange… A crisis going to waste — so sad…