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Chicago will pay United Airlines $163 million to move a cargo facility that stands in the way of the next, new runway at O'Hare Airport, according to the Chicago Tribune. In the over-all scam, err, scheme of a $15 billion airport, that's not much. But did anybody bother to ask where the $163 million is coming from?
Who would have thought? By the way, did you notice that there's no mention of where the new facility will go? That's either more piece-meal planning or another attempt to keep the plans secret. Why the latter? Because the new location might have something to do with where the promised by-pass road will go--on or off airport property. Either location has serious problems, which is why everyone still is waiting to see what the answer is.
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Dennis, on a total tangent, Paul Krugman and others are making a compelling case (I think) for nationalizing banks. He contends that these banks are insolvent -- they may show assets but these assets are mortgaged-back securities and only worth maybe 50% of their value today if that much. He further contends that anything other than nationalization will mean the taxpayers will be paying the owners of these banks. For example, if these bad assets go into a trust to be bought by the government at "fair market value," there arguably is no fair market value and this is just a smokescreen for welfare-for-the-wealthy.
It's further argued by the likes of Thomas Friedman that *this* phony bank balance sheet stuff is what's freezing the credit market. Banks are hoarding their funds (including TARP funds) because they know they're going to need every penny. Chuck Schumer says that bankers are telling him in private there is up to 4 trillion dollars in bad bank debt.
Thoughts?
Some Republicans would not be surprised to learn that Klugman et al are arguing for the nationalization of banks.They had argued that it's part of the "socialist" agenda, and they were dismissed as crazy. Frankly, I never thought it would go so far as nationalizing banks and other institutions, but at the clip that were going head over heels to "rescue" everything sight, it's beginning to look more and more like it's in our future.
Speaking of phony balance sheets, exhibit number one is America's, with about $65 trillion on it, with most of it in unfunded social security, Medicare and other unfunded programs.
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