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Comment: A description of the muni bond industry that we find (um, how can we say this politely?) novel: “The opportunity to work in this industry with all of you has been extraordinary. The values, the vision of the people in public finance, my colleagues, my clients and, yes even my competitors -- we all shared a journey because we want to leave this world a little better than it was…. We are unique as a financials services sector because we actually care about people.”
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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A better tribute to the industry would have been singing Disney’s A Pirate’s Life for Me: Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me We pillage plunder, we rifle and loot Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho We kidnap and ravage and don’t give a hoot Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me We extort and pilfer, we filch and sack Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho Maraud and embezzle and even highjack Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me We kindle and… Read more »
It’s a stimulus to HOPE … for an afterlife where smug muni-bond consultants will have their own circle, shared perhaps by rating agency VPs and other guardians of the public interest.
Is she doing God’s Work?
(Nov 9, 2009 – The chief executive of Goldman Sachs, which has attracted widespread media attention over the size of its staff bonuses, says he believes banks serve a social purpose and are “doing God’s work.” “We’re very important,” Lloyd C. Blankfein said in an interview with The Times of London.)
Everybody who believes in God thinks God is on their side, including players of both baseball teams who look at the sky (is that where God resides?) and make the sign of the cross. Similarly, we have the song “God Bless America,” but many countries have songs where their God is blessing their country. Finally, to determine the probability of your religion being the one true religion, divide 1 by the number of religions in the world.