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"The simple definition of Weaponized Governmental Failure is this: it’s the deliberate refusal to perform the basic tasks of urban governance for a specific political purpose.... The urban socialist Left wants a manageably small core of rich residents and a teeming mass of poor ones, and nothing in between. That’s what Weaponized Governmental Failure produces, and it’s a wide-scale success. New Orleans votes 90 percent Democrat. Philadelphia is 80 percent Democrat. Chicago is 85 percent. Los Angeles? Seventy-one percent."
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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Looking into her eyes in the picture that leads this article , I couldn’t help but to become transfixed by them. The eyeglasses magnify her eyes so that you could look into her soul, if she had one. She doesn’t
This article is garbage and has no place here. The title is demoralizing and not really worth reading further. There’s a fine line between motivation through fear and demoralization. This is clearly demoralizing and part of the reason why nothing changes. Coincidence?
The formula for winning is choosing the right words, keeping up morale and playing offense as well as defense. A political movement with high morale is capable of overcoming significant obstacles because of enthusiasm, self determination, self confidence, unity, etc.
I’d love to hear your thoughts downvoter! Bring it on.
Realities can be demoralizing. Harden up softy.
Don’t forget that what you call down voters also means “Disagree” with all or just in part with the comment someone gives. That’s the way I look at it. It would be nice if someone disagrees with a particular comment give some reasons why so a rebuttal can be formulated.
Thanks for the comment Freddy. There’s no disagreement here. These are mostly political operatives downvoting. They have nothing to disagree with; I’d crush them in the comments. Even Mark admits below it’s political hyperbole and followed up with a non-sequitur. Mark would do well by reading some of the other articles on his website before commenting. Yeah, we’re going to see 85% Democrat after years of riots and most of the city has turned into a Grand Theft Auto game!!!! That’s funny! The criminal respawning legislation also adds fuel to the fire. I personally watched a car jacking two weeks… Read more »
First, we don’t make decisions about what articles have a “place here.” We link to all perspectives in our first two columns. Second, I think the piece makes a fair point — that progressives have a perverse conflict of interest in that their power is maintained by allowing the conditions for which they claim to have solutions. I personally would not make the case for that as strongly as the author did, however.
I still don’t understand why it’s here. Somebody made the decision to put it here. It’s not a perspective, it’s opposition propaganda and I I’m the target. Any generic military primer explains how to draft stuff like this. Attack confidence in victory, steer conversation towards conjecture, ideology over science based logic, attack convictions, sow confusion, divide, distract, etc. If I want to win in court, I hire a lawyer that wins. If I want to improve my sports game, I’ll hire a winning coach. I come to Wirepoints to further political goals. It’s bad enough folks are downvoting instead of… Read more »
American Spectator is a pretty uncontroversial conservative leaning, almost institutional Republican publication. By attacking this article, you’re attacking your our own side. The reality is that the communist has beat us down for 20 years. And while we were busy memeing about Trump in 2016, progressives were taking over school boards, town halls, park districts, and ultimately, now they control entire Democrat party. We have very little outside of state and some local governments while they control your education system, corporate boards, the non-profits, the entire federal government, and nearly every other institution. Retreating from cities is not surrendering, it’s… Read more »
“By attacking this article, you’re attacking your our own side.” No. I’m calling them out for publishing mixed messages. Have you ever been on a sports team or been a member of a professional group that enshrined opposition or competitors? How long would you get to keep your job if you said this at a corporate meeting: “There’s nothing we can do because our competitor ‘rules’ the market.” There’s no need to retreat. We need to charge! We have the numbers, the support and the resources. The only thing we don’t have is morale or consensus and I’m trying to… Read more »
You want carefully built propaganda, in other words. You are in the wrong place. We are here to be a marketplace of ideas.
Ok… So we’re rolling up our sleeves here. Great! “Second, I think the piece makes a fair point — that progressives have a perverse conflict of interest in that their power is maintained by allowing the conditions for which they claim to have solutions.” Wrong! Their power is maintained by a criminal enterprise of federal tax money and resources from multinational corporations backing their shenanigans. As much as they’d love you to believe otherwise, THE GENERAL PUBLIC DOES NOT SUPPORT THEM. The implicit goal of the status quo is a merger of federal and state / municipal sovereignty after the… Read more »
Down votes are something to be cherished! It’s an indication you’re over the target and the snowflakes are agitated and upset their sincere virtue signaling has had no effect on you.
“It’s a choice to do a poor job with the more mundane tasks of running a city, and an educated and purposeful choice at that.” A damning indictment! And this is not in just the big cities, but I see this pattern in Evanston. Despite sky – high taxes, downtown Evanston is in decline, with ever – more panhandlers (and a plan to put porta – potties downtown to “accommodate” them), shuttered businesses, and a trashy low – barrier homeless shelter (the Margarita Inn, “managed” by Connections for the Homeless) placed smack – dab in a dense residential neighborhood. District… Read more »
I was a Detroiter in the time frame mentioned by McKay. To paraphrase the Temptations, when Coleman Young died all he ever left us was alone….
“They rule over a ruin, but they rule.” WGF exists because, quite frankly, large American cities have become impossible govern, so our leaders focus on cultural issues instead. They didn’t start out this way, they ended up this way. I say this because, going to that episode of the Wire where Mayor Tommy Carcetti sits at a desk and special interest groups bring him Bowls of Schlit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjzqO6UOPFQ . The teachers unions run the schools so they cannot be meaningfully reformed . The ACLU runs the police through consent decrees so aggressive crime fighting can’t happen . The various racial… Read more »
You really should update your assessment of the situation. Everything has changed post COVID. Teachers are in a huge battle with the public over just about everything. There isn’t really a clear winner. ACLU just got their asses handed to them after weaponization of the #MeToo movement turned out to be fraud. Billions of people got a first hand account of their shenanigans in Depp v Heard BLM has been gutted and is currently plagued with scandals. Even Ye (Kanye West) is wearing White Lives Matter t-shirts Labor unions run labor? How does this even make sense? Pensions don’t control… Read more »