Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Rome Was Not Built (Or Destroyed) In A Week; InsolvenCity And Its Pathetic Pension Plan Will Not Be Saved (Or Doomed) This Week, Either

Amid the current commotion, conniptions, and confabulations associated with the Not-So-Great InsolvenCity Parking Garage Sale episode, a few observations might bear repeating:

• December 31 is a "deadline" much as March 19 and September 20 and November 1 and Thanksgiving week were "deadlines."

• Each of these elements could occupy a role far more prominent than most people expect in any sensible resolution of InsolvenCity's parking privatization pension funding problem:
• Joe Scarnati (and other Republican legislators)

• Substantial revisions to InsolvenCity's pension structure

• A serious discussion of a municipal bankruptcy petition

• An unhurried, transparent, ecumenical consideration of parking proposals

• An indictment or two

• One it is a bit too early to mention
• Each of these elements could occupy a role somewhat more prominent than most people expect:

• New-to-the-table local civic leaders

• New (and better) financial overlords adult supervision

• A couple of City Council election campaigns

• LAZ Parking (after shedding some local baggage)


Infinonytune: Long Time Comin', Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band

Infinonytune: Karn Evil 9 ("Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends . . ."), Emerson, Lake and Palmer

10 comments:

MH said...

An indictment or two

You keep saying that and it never happens. Did you used to work for U.S. Air?

Anyway, a couple of elections will certainly be needed to clarify relative strength, etc.

Infinonymous said...

Quantified Infopinions regarding the timing and prospects of certain indictments are customarily found at The Propositions Board (far right column). Current lines indicate that no particular indictment becomes an even-odds proposition before 2014. (The odds concerning any indictment, rather than a particular one, are obviously less long.)

Odds are likely to be updated soon, but the Propositions Board has never indicated, and likely will not soon signal, a high probability of an indictment in the immediate future.

Over the longer term (1-5 years), however, the likelihood that someone(s) will be indicted for conduct associated with recent InsolvenCity governance seems a good line to bet the house on (barring a surprising development, such as Pat Ford found face-down in the Mon).

MH said...

found face-down in the Mon

Even U.S. Air would notice that.

Anonymous said...

Soon to be added to the indictment board - those involved in the great parking lease bamboozle of 2010. Local and state officials should be getting worried. Unless they make the deal happen, heads will certainly roll. They were promised their money...

Infinonymous said...

Sure, people would notice, and suspect, and be upset, but the practical point is that witnesses rarely testify effectively after being found floating face-down in the Mon.

The scandal most likely to affect the pension-parking issues in the near term does not involve an elected official (at least, not an elected official in Allegheny County), but could rearrange the parking-pension calculations overnight.

n'at said...

all this commotion, no one has asked Onorato the Lesser for perspective or guidance. What say he - like, for reals?

MH said...

I'm sure somebody asked him, but there is no reason for him to answer and many good reasons not to answer.

Infinonymous said...

First, InsolvenCity can't afford more short-term, kick-the-can thinking concerning pension funding . . . and half-baked, short-sighted reactions are not only Mr. Onorato's specialty, they're the only hand he has ever showed.

Second, Mr. Ravenstahl is no longer interested in Mr. Onorato's opinions, and vice versa.

Third, the Onoratos likely are too busy house-hunting and car-shopping to spare Dan at the moment.

n'at said...

Attempting to pose a cheeky inquiry I was referring to Dave - the Lesser - in the parlance of your blagosphere through applicable praenomen transformation.

Infinonymous said...

Based on performance of public duties, it seems wrong to label Dave the "Lesser" of two Onoratos.