-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
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.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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But if them stores be closin’ where I bee’s gettin’ da Flamin’ Hots and grape drank?
I was bummed when in my nw side middle-class neighborhood the within walking distance Dollar General closed. I walked over there all the time…along with a ton of other stores within WALKING distance….there’s been nothing to take it’s place, just more empty commercial/retail space to add to the mountains that already exist. All the mom & pop stores closed long ago. Now, just like in the burbs, you have to pretty much drive to the box stores to get anything.
Do these idiots think any other business will move into the empty storefronts? Food deserts exist because grocers can’t make it work financially when the neighborhood simply takes stuff and walks out like they own the place. No accountability, no grocery stores stupid fools.
“The proliferation of dollar stores on Chicago’s South and West sides “contributes to the food desert” that marks those areas, O’Shea said. That has made it nearly impossible for many poor Chicagoans to find affordable fruits and vegetables, since the dollar stores push out other grocers and retailers by offering other goods at deep discounts, he said.,,” Uh, *what* “other grocers and retailers”…??? This is called “capitalism”, and the dollar stores obviously cater to the needs of the local clientele… if there was a market here that really wanted “affordable fruits and vegetables”, then a retailer would fill that void,… Read more »
Vegetables are not readily available because most residents don’t cook many meals due to the composition of households. The vast majority of households are single men, working mothers with multiple children, and older folks. The single men aren’t cooking. Young black men are actually the least likely demographic (along with rich white women) to be overweight. Young and middle aged black eat out a lot which explains the large number of fast food places and convenience stores that sell packaged good. Single mother households don’t make meals at home either. CPS provides free breakfast and lunch so mom, who is… Read more »
With inflation they should be $10 stores now.
I tell my wife all the time that “yesterday’s” $10 tab has become today’s $100 tab. When I was a young guy there was a local house painter who when he needed some attention would pull a a $100 bill from his pocket apparently to show his “wealth”. My aunt used to carry a wad of $20 bills to pay almost any immediate bill. That wouldn’t seem all that impressive today, but essentially $20 is equivalent to $200-250 today. Then, you have some idea of the purchasing power of her ever present wad of $20 bills.
Also, maybe it’s worth stating that was in an era when her new Lincoln Continental cost $6,000. Does anyone younger than being a “senior citizen” in our country even ponder how inflation has eroded the purchasing power of the dollar over the last several decades in particular? No, I don’t think so—for better or worse.
Not so much because the value of their house, bonds, stocks, and other investments have increased at a rate faster than inflation. A boomer aged coworker told me several weeks ago they purchased their home for $290k in Lake County two decades ago and now it’s worth almost $800k. It’s the real life example of the meme of the boomer who bought their home on a teacher’s salary, did very little renovating, and now are reaping the benefits of an insanely priced housing market.
Yep, it now costs HUGE money to buy the same house that sold almost for “pennys” (sp.) when purchased by an older generation. What else is new?
Actually, that is very new and something unique to my generation and younger. Housing prices tended to be fairly stable and increase at the general rate of inflation. Then around 2000 things got out of control after the first tech bubble and have been extremely volatile with massive swings in prices ever since. Even California housing prices used to be normal and stable through the 90’s. It wasn’t until the tech boom in the 2000’s that housing prices went out of control. Everyone seems to just accept that California is priced so crazy but that’s an entirely new phenomenon that’s… Read more »
I wonder why the U. S. government bothers to still keep making pennys. They have no real purchasing power and surely cost much more to make. Long ago a person could buy something for a penny. Now, they are dead weight in your pocket.
I remember that a new Shelby GT 350 was $3,499 and the GT 500 $4,999. What are they worth now if still in good condition? Similar prices on the 389 tri power GTO and Dodge Charger 440 or 426 Hemi.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1969-dodge-charger-r-t-2
Those are collectors items, not for general transportation today.
One reason cars today have gotten so expensive – beyond inflation – is that america no longer wants cheap $hitboxes with manual windows and no air conditioning. Sure they were dirt cheap, and they sold tens of millions, but lemon laws came into existence because the quality of these cheap, entry level vehicles were so terrible. Cars also last a lot longer now, the average car on the road is nearly 13 years old, the highest its ever been.
A lot of people here in Belvidere use them almost daily in summer months. There is a weekly show at a local BB Rib place here when all the classic cars park. I see them on a daily basis. Lots of chrome on them. There are many events like at the Boone county fairgrounds to show off their cars. Considering this is Mopar country because of the Chrysler plant and the consolidation of Mopar facilities which will now be in Belvidere I expect to see more classics from people moving here to work at the plant.
Jimmy, when Old Joe was a kid there were penny candy stores. Some items were actually 2 for a penny!