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But our State is broke, losing population and can't even pass a budget because the Governor dared challenge the entrenched power brokers. Chicago's credit rating is at junk bond status, its segregated south and west sides are embroiled in much publicized violence, and its schools are turning out what would appear to be a woefully substandard workforce. Taxes at both the state and local level are going to increase and probably will continue to do so for some time unless some intervening forces come into play, or someone grows the stones to challenged the status quo with some really novel ideas.
So, I don't know, I just assumed there is a Job Fairy which is going to create and sustain all of the future goodness. I really don't see who else would do it.
Are you implying that there's no Job Fairy? What'll you tell me next, that there's no Santa Claus? Hahaha, very funny! You are joking, right?
I have friends that saw this coming, it is not really a shock. The sad reality is that for all the joyous ribbon cuttings Rahm attends heralding the wondrous "start ups" and "HQ relocations" the real winners in the tech world are all pretty secure in their West Coast environment. When even our jet-setting local boosters spend more time actually working in NYC than Chicago it should go a long way to helping folks realize that the ecosystem of talent is far different in Silicon Valley and the Pacific Northwest.
If you want a real long term career in Chicago it makes far more sense to seek out a position in one of the financial firms or maybe the advertising agencies that really do understand the advantages that Chicago offers. It would also help to be sure that the morons that want to kill off those advantages by imposing lunatic policies cooked up by folks that do not understand the first thing about economics are kept as far as way from power as possible...
It is not just his "bash the financial markets" rhetoric that is utterly misplaced, it is his basic misunderstanding of what consumer oriented marketers like Kraft, Gatorade and Sara Lee and others really mean to the economy -- An Economics Lesson For Bernie Sanders | Hoover Institution
So, I don't know, I just assumed there is a Job Fairy which is going to create and sustain all of the future goodness. I really don't see who else would do it.
In the short term, things are most definitely moving and if you pay very close attention to all the crap being built in a variety of neighborhoods, you'll see that they are actually selling/renting out pretty quickly. We'll see what happens in the future - short term right now though, people are unphased by this stuff. The city/area is still the 3rd largest economy in the country and one of the most 10 or 15 most powerful in the world still. This is not going to magically change anytime soon. Investors are still betting on the city even through its woes. We should be glad that they continue to do so:
I bet you just couldn't wait to post another negative story.
I generally focus on articles from about half a dozen important newspapers -- Chicago Tribune, SunTimes, Wall Street Journal, LA Time, NYT, CSM, Washington Post and others. When I see the coverage related to the video of some clearly messed up but mostly "one off" situation get splashed across the nation if not the globe but far less coverage of either the on going horrors that continue to see the gang violence torment parts of the city OR the calamitous budget situation I really get upset.
Similarly when I see a story that pretty clearly contradicts the line of make-believe that Rahm and more than a few others seem to promote, that everything will be fine because there is such hot high tech employment booming in Chicago, it is a disconnect that others really should acknowledge.
If there were tons more people in Chicago making tons more money that similarly skilled people in Silicon Valley or the pacific NW than maybe there would be revenue to address the problems. That is NOT the situation. Rahm's tax increase is gonna knock a bunch of relatively low paid workers and retirees for an awful shock. These are people that bought their little bungalows with one time windfalls, but regular people that are finding it increasingly hard to find any kind of work that helps them keep ahead of inflation.
As others have said, the outflows of people that are fed up violence and lack of opportunity are the real demon and when even the much praised high tech jobs are not held onto the net result is that even with massive of naive newbies flooding into hip northside areas the city is facing a terrible drain on resources...
In the short term, things are most definitely moving and if you pay very close attention to all the crap being built in a variety of neighborhoods, you'll see that they are actually selling/renting out pretty quickly. We'll see what happens in the future - short term right now though, people are unphased by this stuff. The city/area is still the 3rd largest economy in the country and one of the most 10 or 15 most powerful in the world still. This is not going to magically change anytime soon. Investors are still betting on the city even through its woes. We should be glad that they continue to do so:
The story you quote is one that highlight the PAIN that will be forced to be shouldered by the folks trapped in Chicago and how that will enrich speculators --
Quote:
These investors' gain is Chicagoans' loss. This month's two-part $1.1 billion bond deal will cost the city roughly $150 million more in interest in today's dollars than if the city still carried the A-level credit rating it had less than two years ago, the Tribune calculated.
Chicago Public Schools is likely to pay similar penalties if it follows through on plans to borrow up to $1.2 billion later this year. Some analysts have been touting CPS bonds as well, noting that while the schools' financial situation is more dire, the district's fate is largely dependent on the city that controls it. The situation in the city will compromise the ability to keep quality schools, to keep the streets clean, said partner Matt Fabian. But for investors who can stomach the ups and downs that are probably coming for Chicago, (the bonds) give an attractive amount of income.
So if you're looking forward to even crappier schools and streets with even scarier potholes but BIGGER RETURNS for investors that prey on a city with nearly insurmountable fiscal challenges, then CHILL BRO!!!
This is common in M&A everywhere in the world. I don't understand why you think this has much of anything to do with Chicago. Anybody who knows anything about M&A would understand what's going on here and never attribute it to the location. It appears that Vlajos is right - you don't understand M&A one bit. The very second the news hit about Expedia purchasing Orbitz, everyone who pays attention to this stuff in Chicago should have understood layoffs were going to hit sooner or later because it's how it works (at least accepted worldwide as a common practice). Orbitz could have been located in the heart of San Francisco or Tokyo and the same thing would have happened.
But our State is broke, losing population and can't even pass a budget because the Governor dared challenge the entrenched power brokers. Chicago's credit rating is at junk bond status, its segregated south and west sides are embroiled in much publicized violence, and its schools are turning out what would appear to be a woefully substandard workforce. Taxes at both the state and local level are going to increase and probably will continue to do so for some time unless some intervening forces come into play, or someone grows the stones to challenged the status quo with some really novel ideas.
So, I don't know, I just assumed there is a Job Fairy which is going to create and sustain all of the future goodness. I really don't see who else would do it.
Are you implying that there's no Job Fairy? What'll you tell me next, that there's no Santa Claus? Hahaha, very funny! You are joking, right?
Got it. I never heard of it before.
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Quite the opposite...
