There is far too much money (undisclosed commissions and seven-figure, at-risk professional fees, for example) at stake to permit the next two weeks to pass without a frantic push for a
Not-So-Great InsolvenCity Parking Garage Sale (more specifically, anything that would constitute a "closing" adequate to entitle advisors and placement agents to compensation). The pushers will be the privateers and the guys who get paid at closing, plus their lackeys among elected officials. The pushees will be five council members (and anyone perceived to be positioned to influence any of those five councilors).
None of the four council members already inclined to vote for privatization, nor the mayor who
is was the privateers' point man, is respected by the five-member resistance, at least not with respect to this issue; in many cases, there is little or no fondness, either. It is difficult to envision a substantive argument for privatization that has not been advanced and rejected. For those reasons, no likely path to a switched vote is apparent. Hundreds of millions of dollars, however, should create pressure that could warp behavior, particularly when coupled with the likelihood of a mispriced deal and the consequent cream-skimming among the usual gluttons.
Let the (ostensibly) final jousting begin!
10 comments:
you had it all along, Infy, the lack of respect and credibility was obvious today....& turns out it was crazy for anyone to think the Wall Street deal was gonna pass today
so congrats, Infy....nailed it early in this whole process, thought you were crazy at first but it looks like the five are gonna stick together all the way
so....what's next, Nostradamus?
Gotta hand it to ya:
Didn't Nostradamus also predict Armageddon?
What's next is the takeover and $60 million per year ripped from public works, job training, building inspection, public safety and other services that hold our deteriorating neighborhoods together like so much twine. But hell, the nicer parts of town won't even notice ... and can park cheaply in Shadyside knowing that "Wall Street" and "investment bankers" have been taught a lesson in dealing with rust belt cities and their pedantic, self-absorbed, jealously political so-called leadership.
So by all means gloat, and start nattering about what this means for future elections. That's what's important right?
Rev "Snake in the Grass" Burgess just can't seem to carry Flukie Lukies water good enough. Will he lose all of his promises from the administration if he fails? No painted crack house, no loaves and fishes, no red up crews at his beck and call? What's a poverty pimp to do? Also, what deal did Patrick "Jumped the Shark" Dowd get offered to go wobbly?
The other syophants are useless and always were small thinkers, so I pray that the fearless five stay strong and true!
The important thing is that anonymous internet racism lives on.
Racism is such an ugly word and used all too freely. The Rev. himself called Bill Peduto a racist for not going along with the lease. Rev. snake in the grass has pitted black-CBGB nieghborhoods againt Shadyside and Oakland thoughout this discussion in a not so subtle division along racial lines. The Rev will always do what's best for the minority community first. A not so subtle shift of wealth and resources.
Maybe if Homewood had a parking meter he would look at this issue in a less narrow and selfish way.
Rev will always do what's best for the minority community first.
except he won't-- it's all rhetoric, he doesn't care about poor people or black people, they're merely props for his mediocre acting.
poverty pimp is right.
Anonymous 7:46:
I was concerned about that very issue, so much so that I watched (courtesy of Council's online digital archive) that episode of the reality show.
Peduto and Burgess were arguing about whether or not the takeover would result in higher taxes (because the Mayor said that pension payments would escalate to $72 million under a takeover, Burgess said $100 million, and Peduto said they were both misleading the public, and that takeover wouldn't be that bad). Burgess refused to allow Peduto to keep lying about the impacts this takeover would have on the poor. Peduto exploded that everytime someone disagrees with Burgess that Burgess calls them a racist.
Burgess never mentioned race, or black people. Only poor people, low- and moderate-income residents and senior citizens.
So unless Peduto believes that all poor people are Black or vice versa, he overreacted.
By the way, the Mayor and Burgess were both wrong about the impact. PMRS says it will cost 4120 million a year to pay the bill.
Poor communities will suffer, but that's okay, Peduto ensured that the parking rates only increased by 50 cents, so some rich dude from Squirrel Hill only has to pay $1.00 to park while he buys his wife a $3,500 necklace from Henne Jewelers.
Parking meters in Homewood? Can we have the businesses too? If so, it would be a worthwhile tradeoff.
At least Infinonymous insults with greater intellect and less anonymously.
Did we miss the Infinsults regarding the Peduto-Burgess exchange?
If Infinonymous were to insult, it would be pseudonymously, not "more (or less) anonymously."
Substantively, paying the piper on pensions -- which can not be ducked, no matter how much InsolvenCity holds its breath and stamps its feet and dreams of skating -- will hurt everyone in the City of Pittsburgh. Some will be affected more by increased taxes; others will be affected more by decreased services; but all will be affected, in a number of ways. Few will be able to argue they don't deserve the consequences of decades of dysfunction that generated the problem.
PMRS says it will cost 4120 million a year to pay the bill.
Four Billion a year?
Few will be able to argue they don't deserve the consequences of decades of dysfunction that generated the problem.
I haven't even been here for a single decade.
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