Mike “Mish” Shedlock is an American investment advisor and financial commentator. He operates the blog MishTalk.com, offering economic trend analysis. Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for Sitka Pacific Capital Management, an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. He is also a contributing “professor” on Minyanville, a community site focused on economic and financial education.
Detroit’s emergency manager Kevyn Orr says a pension fund takeover is a “right, if not an obligation” after Orr learned of extra, unwarranted pension payments. Please consider Emergency Manager Weighs Pension-Fund Takeover. Kevyn Orr said in a recent interview that at the current pace, the city’s General Services System pension fund could lose its ability to...
Now that a federal judge in Michigan has properly ruled pension obligations are not sacrosanct (see Lesson for Union Dinosaurs) the spotlight is once again on union dinosaurs in California. Bankrupt San Bernardino foolishly did not attempt to shed pension obligations in bankruptcy, but perhaps it can now reconsider. What about Stockton and Vallejo? On April...
On Friday, Salon reported Breaking: Massive Black Friday strike and arrests planned, as workers defy Wal-Mart. Defying the nation’s top employer and a business model that defines the new U.S. economy, Wal-Mart employees and allies will try to oust shopping headlines with strike stories, and throw a retail giant off its heels on what should be its happiest...
Numerous cities have filed for bankruptcy in recent years, and many more cities are on the brink. The reason is untenable union wages, and more importantly untenable pension promises. Sampling of Bankruptcy News Vallejo, California March 2009: Judge Rules Vallejo Can Void Union Contracts Los Angeles, California January 2010: Mayor of Los Angeles Says “Bankruptcy is Not...
Add Desert Hot Springs, CA to the list of California cities in dire straits due to poor management, union wages, and ridiculously unaffordable pension promises. Please consider Another U.S. city mulls bankruptcy due to soaring wages and pensions A resort town in California warned on Tuesday that it will run out of money by March due...
It is truly pathetic watching politicians flop like fish out of water trying to prevent something that was clearly inevitable long ago. Please consider Moody’s warns of bankruptcy in Scranton as city faces $20 million budget gap. Moody’s warned investors that Scranton could be facing the threat of default or bankruptcy thanks to a $20 million...
Editor’s Note: This post by regular UnionWatch contributor Mike Shedlock documents the latest bad news for the Illinois Teachers Retirement System. And of course, union-controlled Illinois politicians have a solution: More taxes in one of the most overtaxed states in America. Like many if not most pension reformers, Shedlock advocates a scrapping of defined benefit...
Illinois “Progressives” (a single word to describe “economically illiterate public union sympathizers”) want to pick your pocket once again. The Progressives want to hike the Illinois 2015 top tax rate from 3.75% to a whopping 9%. Moreover the income tax rate will go up on a sliding scale for everyone making over $18,000. Promises, Promises...
Editor’s Note: UnionWatch contributor Mike Shedlock provides some perspective on the BART strike that began today, their 2nd this year. One impasse relates to the refusal of management to submit to binding arbitration on the remaining areas of dispute. Good for management. The possibility of getting an even worse result in binding arbitration is the...
Editor’s Note: An article published today in the Stockton Record’s reports “Deis: City won’t tackle pension reform.” Bob Deis is Stockton’s city manager. Apparently he doesn’t want Stockton to be the first to fall. As soon as one city restructures their pensions, every city and county in California will follow, because the alternative is a...
The one state arguably more troubled than California is Illinois. Unions, union sympathizers, socialists, and tax-hike proponents are strongly in control of both states. Is it any wonder that perpetual economic difficulties and insurmountable pension underfundings face both states? Via email, Ted Dabrowski at the Illinois Policy Institute writes … Unhappy Anniversary Six months ago, Illinois overtook...
With public unions threatening to seize Scranton assets including fire trucks, how long will it take for Scranton to do the smart thing and declare bankruptcy? The Times-Tribune reports Scranton police/fire unions get $21M judgment against city; may seize assets to collect. Scranton’s police and fire unions have received a judgment against the city for the...
Liz and I traveled this past Labor Day weekend. We drove from Crystal Lake, Illinois to a golf resort in Manistee, Michigan. Traffic was bad in the Chicago area as expected, but exceptionally slow traffic continued all the way through Indiana, and even into Michigan, all along I-94 until we reached Michigan 31. M-31 breaks off from...
The entire education system is financially unsustainable and has been for some time. The price of education is so expensive as to make college a poor choice for many who attend, and a downright bad choice for those who go heavily in debt for degrees in little demand. The cost of education keeps rising along with:...
a new form will got here