“”The fact that the city’s union-protected employees get lifetime constitutional guarantees to employment benefits . . .”
What Ransom is referring to (and he’s absolutely correct in describing the situation) is a recent Illinois Supreme Court ruling that the exorbitant pension deals that teachers and city workers received as pay-offs for their votes from the Democrat machine can’t be modified *legally*.
From the Daily Herald:
“The state’s largest public employees union is praising an Illinois Supreme Court opinion that backs constitutional protections for the health insurance benefits of retired state workers. The head of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 said Thursday’s ruling means “retirement security ... cannot be revoked by politicians.”
*You* are absolutely correct that this situation is the result of the mendacity of the corrupt politicians who provided unsustainable union contract perks as a pay-off for union campaign money and organized bloc voting by union members.
By “lifetime-constitutional guarantee” what Ransom means is that if your an Illinois resident, as the bill comes due for these unsustainable benefits, you have just a few choices - pay ever increasing taxes, dodge the taxes (and eventually go to jail), move to another state, or quit work and become a free-loader like a significant fraction of this corrupt state. What you *don’t* have as an option is to elect government officials who would change those ridiculous contracts to economically-sustainable levels.
And the bottom-line, as I see it, is that eventually Illinois ends up as Detroit - the productive people move out, and the state goes bankrupt, because it sure as hell can’t keep raising taxes and paying those benefits.
And putting somebody like Allen West in a position of power in the state or city is a wonderful idea (fat chance that would ever happen, though).
I absolutely agree with everything you say. My point is though in ALL situations involving money there is one unavoidable AXIOM that the poor taxpayers MUST understand governs ALL man made business documents and that is that YES it’s in the constitution and YES it can’t be changed legally BUT, MONEY does not grow on trees! Somebody has to produce through labor that buck given to the socialist worker and unionist. If not, it simply is not there. And, the economy is fragile, like a deer in the headlights, it can just run away. And, that is what has happened to Chicago. At some point, what few citizens of good will still remain in Chicago will have to have a vote to alter the constitution or DIE as a functioning city. It’s as simple as that and there is no magic bullet that the politicians keep praying for. Remember, the feds are broke too.
So, in the end, the Illinois Constitution is trumped by feet! People move to another state. Yes that is a sorry option to people who have spent their life there but to any thinking person Chicago, like Detroit, is over the hill already. There is no hope! Move out!
My company was recently going to buy an $850,000 digital sign near Ohare but given the state of Chicago we passed. That same type story is happening a thousand times a day I’m sure. Chicago is dying because there simply is no way it can handle the debt it created for itself and resolve the legal impediments to handling it.