Ted discussed several COVID-19-related topics with Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson this week. He talked about the impact of Illinois delaying its latest bond offering and the fact that nearly half of COVID-19 deaths in Illinois are linked to retirement homes.
“This is the game politicians have been playing for a long time. They’re always buying a few more years. If they get the bailout, that’s another two to three years of fiscal delay. That’s the game. Its why Illinois has been downgraded time after time. If they can play any game to extend the fiscal reckoning, they’ll do it.”
“Everybody in the country now knows Illinois is in trouble. That’s what makes this crisis more interesting. Everybody is watching to see what gimmicks Illinois uses. And Illinois won’t get away with it. The state is looking at a junk rating”
“We knew the first deaths in the country were in retirement homes. Every state should have known right then that the elderly in retirement homes were the most vulnerable. We already knew that from Italy, from China. Gov. Pritzker’s first focus should have been on them. Instead, he spent time blaming the federal government. We’ve ended up with 1,600 deaths – half of all deaths – have come from retirement homes. That’s a sad fact. It’s a disaster of criminal proportions.”
“This crisis reveals the two classes of workers in Illinois. There is the public sector worker who gets long-term contracts, guaranteed pay, generous pensions. And there is the private sector that’s getting slashed, cut, fired, furloughed etc., and yet they still have to keep paying for the public class.”
“If Illinois doesn’t get a bailout, then we’ll finally get the reality – that we’re broke, we’re out of money. There will either be chaos or, this is the big or, Pritzker, Madigan and others say there is nothing left to do but pass the reforms we’ve been talking about for a long time.”
“As long as the market or federal government keeps bailing out Illinois, politicians can keep playing games. But when that stops, the choice is chaos or reforms.”
Read more about COVID-19 and the impact on Illinois:
- Illinois’ COVID-19 crisis: Daily data update
- With New FDA Action, Gov. Pritzker and Dr. Ezike Have No Excuse for Further Stonewalling Antibody Testing
- Pritzker’s top-down reopen strategy will fail large parts of IL: He should expect pushback
- Governor Pritzker’s Plan to Reopen Illinois Makes No Sense
- Open Illinois’ economy: Recessions and depressions kill
- COVID-19: Seven facts that tell us Illinoisans can and must get back to work
- Reopen the Economy While Protecting Those Truly at Risk or Face Another Great Depression
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
https://pensions.bettergov.org/
Pensions are protected by law. Poor honest taxpayers are not protect. Government workers are far more valuable than a honest hard working taxpayer who does not retire before age 67 with $2000 a month SS. A lazy government worker will retire at age 52 with over $10,000 per month with 3% annual increase and NOT PAY A PENNY OF STATE INCOME TAXES. It is quite clear who counts and who does not. If you feel like you are being screwed? It is because you are. The best day of your life will be the day you move anywhere but Illinois.… Read more »
The death cycle can go a few more years for the Dem liberals. Yes, taxes will be raised triggering more people to leave, but it takes months and sometimes longer to prepare for a move. In the meantime you still have to pay the increased Illinois taxes/fees. It will also probably take longer and longer to sell a home because so many neighbors will also be selling so they can leave. If you felt stuck before, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Good thing I own my home at age 40 and could auction it off for $5 if need be. I literally would to get out of here if I needed to. It feels good to know I can easily escape.
No way can they raise taxes enough. Without bank loans and more deficit spending Illinois is toast.
JB Murdered Illinois!
Check out a you-tube vid “South Korea’s Growing Household Debt, undercover Asia”. It’s like the USA economy except it’s on steroids and the boom-bust cycles happen faster. The small business owners getting into debt is crazy. There’s 4 tiers of lenders and when the banks on the top tier tighten their lending standards, desperate borrowers have to go to the bottom tiers that charge 40% interest. This “we’re in this together” is a joke. As the documentary says at the end, the boom-bust cycles will go on forever. Pritzker and Lightfoot must know that even if they haven’t run out… Read more »
Crises accelerate trends already in motion.
Great comments, Ted.
Most speculation is that eventually somehow ultimately Madigan will do the right thing. I don’t believe that.
Madigan and Pritzker do not want to make necessary reforms because it means the end of the IL Democrat party as they know it. The Public-Union-votes-and-campaign-bribes-in-exchange-for-grossly-above-market-wages-and-pensions symbiotic criminal cycle will come to an end.
They will ultimately choose chaos in the streets before ending this successful 50 year long criminal co-conspiracy. They will hope that dramatic TV footage of chaos in Illinois will draw in federal $ and they can then return to business as usual.
But, in the end, they will be forced into bankruptcy. Chaos won’t be tolerated at the federal level for long. 12 million people will not be allowed to kill each other on the street while other states hum along. It is a totally unrealistic situation. The pensions and the unions, as is, are finished soon.
Yes, but … Dem’s will be promising kick-the-can bailouts that keep paychecks and pensions coming for whatever period of time seems necessary to win the Presidency and both houses of Congress. Lots of other states are in trouble — not as bad as Illinois but not so robust as to turn down free money from the Feds. My guess [no more informed than yours] is that this will go down to the wire in November. Lot’s more can happen between now and then and the mainstream press will pile on Trump for anything bad. And hardly anyone from the right… Read more »
Trump will win again.After the first debate against Trump, that will end will Biden.He is older that Reagen when he left after 8 years.