[Gen.Blather]

Wow, here’s the spending per state vs. graduation rate.

http://www.datamasher.org/mash-ups/high-school-graduation-rate-vs-expenditure-pupil-public-schools#table-tab

I don’t recall exact numbers, but I’d guess in 1972, when I graduated, that graduation rates were in excess of 95%. I know of only a handful of cases where people didn’t graduate. Several were so badly injured in race riots they dropped out of school. A couple of girls got pregnant and graduated later. (This was when you were expected to deliver the child and put it up for adoption. But, as I recall, the families raised the babies. Maybe we should go back to the 1950’s as Obama suggested.)

[Dr. Sivana]

Repudiate their enormous pension obligations to government employees by simply defaulting (in the case of states) or declaring bankruptcy, or else meet them by letting all other necessary government services go to seed.

The pension rules are in the state constitution, a hard thing to shake.

[JPG]

Unions: We're still thirsty. We need more blood.

The State: We have no more blood. You've sucked us dry. The host is dead.

[randita]

But for those owning property or a business in Illinois, congratulations: You’re the co-owner a $100 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, in addition to your state’s $9 billion in unpaid bills and $30 billion in general obligation debt. You should probably be thinking of a Plan B for educating your kids or fixing potholes on your street.