A TSUNAMI HITS DETROIT

Do you hear that? It’s a crumbling sound reverberating across the country.

It’s the great wall of over-bloated government pensions starting to crumble in Detroit. The unions think they will stop the crumbling? I don’t think so.

The money has run out. There is NO more money. How do they not understand that?

Picture: Abandoned Fisher Body Plant – from The Ruins of Detroit, Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre

CORRUPTOCRACIES AND CLOUTOCRACIES

Detroit is not the only city that will feel this Tsunami. Some of the other “Corruptocracies” across the country better realize that their time is near.

What is a “Corruptocracy”? It is a government entity that is mired in corruption, clout and years of deals that favor cronies, relatives, and burden constituents. It could be a city, a township, or even a state made up of politicians, unions, favored vendors, and clouted workers. The framework of the Corruptocracy is usually made up of one or several Cloutocracies where all hirings and promotions are based on clout (or who you know, not what you know).

Some of the elite East Coast media call it Chicago-style politics, but come on, we have all seen the same “good ol’ boy” network connections in places all over the country.

From the South, “Uncle Billy-Bob sent me for the position”
to the Northeast, “Hey, Cousin Fredo sent me”,
to Chicago, “Hey, Alderman X sent me” –
it’s all the same. It’s who you know and not what you know that gets you the job and gets you on a rung of the Cloutocracy that adds more fuel to the whole Corruptocracy.

Having years of this creates ineffective organizations that drain a lot of money from tax bases and then later, due to bloated pensions that are promised, create a long-lasting burden on the tax base. Mid-level government leaders are weak because they don’t have the skills to lead, they just have the connection to Uncle Billy-Bob or to the Alderman. Organizations have low morale because of ineffective leadership and promotions that are based on clout, not merit.

Someone said that corruption adds about 30% onto the budget in Illinois. That might be a very conservative estimate. Chicago has 50 aldermen, plus their staffs. They could cut back to 25 aldermen and still be larger than the governing bodies of similar-sized cities.

TIME TO WAKE UP IN OTHER STATES AS WELL

I have sat in on state budget hearings in Illinois and I see people who head up organizations just requesting more money. Their organization is dependent on state funds and all they want is more money.

They have no clue as to help broaden the regional economy or create a more positive atmosphere to attract more businesses (which create more jobs and solidify and grow the tax base). All they know is that they need another 5% to give everyone a raise at their organization.

Most politicians don’t know how to say, “no” and they grant the 5%. Then, they scramble trying to find money for the extra funding and they decide to raise taxes. That is their only solution and it’s time for them to cut the budget instead.

Taxpayers have tightened their belts. Both companies as well as individuals have been cutting back for the last several years. From benefit cuts to no pay increases, companies have held the line in their expenditures. Those employed by those companies have had to work with salaries that have not increased at best and in some cases have gotten decreased over the years.

Government organizations and those who work for them cannot be exempt, especially the Corruptocracies.

ACCEPT REALITY. BE POLITICALLY ACCURATE

Time for people dependent on government subsidies for their organizations – as well as pensions – to understand that the well has run dry.

The great Tsunami of job cuts as well as benefits and pension cuts has finally crashed into the public sector. No one can stop it, not even the unions.

AND, this is not a negative perspective – this is reality.

Some people don’t want to accept reality. They want to sugarcoat the bad news and be politically correct. It’s time to be politically accurate and call things the way they are because that’s the ONLY way we are going to be able to assess the problems and get things back on track.

The media used to be the watchdog on government and its oversight on businesses and would point out its shortcomings.

Today, there are no Upton Sinclairs overseeing politicians. There are just cheerleading groupies wanting to be seen and accepted by the political class.

CARLINI-ISM : Government organizations and those who work for them cannot be exempt from cutbacks, especially the Corruptocracies.

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