Seeking
Inspiration: Or Just Gambling?
In the spirit of the New Year and the possibility of
renewal, a close friend sent me an e-mail chain letter the other day. “Please
send an encouraging quote or verse to the person whose name is in position 1
below (even if you don't know him or her). It should be a favorite motivational
poem/prayer/meditation that has lifted you when you were experiencing
challenging times. Don't agonize over it--it is one you reach for when you need
it or the one that you always turn to…”
I'm a sucker for these
things. I jumped on immediately and sent
a quote from Tartt’s The Goldfinch
that had been ricocheting in my head the last few months.
After that, we were
asked to blind copy the directions to another 20 friends or acquaintances. My sister-in-law, who has unnumbered animals
running about her house and numerous degrees, responded, “I don’t even have 20
friends or acquaintances, nor would I want to.”
Thanks for the reality, if not inspiration.
Anyway, I in turn
started receiving some inspirational lines as well…from people I didn’t know
and even some which were more remindful of less-than-motivational perceptions.
“None of us are
getting out of here alive, so forget the inspiration…”
Well, Happy New
Year to you too…
Adding to that offering
of despair, I was watching year-end television the other night, and Chicago
Tonight’s Year in Review was discharging predictions for the New Year. When Eddie Arruza isn’t emceeing, Paris
Schutz spends most of his time discussing state politics and the latest pension
issues in Springfield. Paris began
enumerating all the additional costs, the loss of the tax increase, the depth
of the debts Illinois faces.
Phil Ponce reminded
us that in order to make up that debt we each would have to pay $20,000. Each…includes all family members.
Someone joked, “Get
out your checkbook…” Nervous laughter. Lots of guffaws, like that would ever happen.
This afternoon,
some chain person I don’t even know sent me my inspirational message. I hesitated before opening, because in reality,
this morning was colder than the lower circles of hell, my feet were soaked,
and the dog wouldn’t come back in the park, and…well, the last thing I needed
was some well-meaning person to tell me life is a gift.
“Membership in any pension or retirement
system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any
agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual
relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.”
Didn’t expect
that.
In my heart, I
want that to be a lock. In my hopeful belief
in justice and law, I want the Supreme Court of Illinois to set that timetable
on Monday next week and then uphold that promise made by the people of the
state to those who toiled for the state – probably sometime in March.
But I honestly
worry about it.
The moment
Judge Belz upheld the unconstitutionality of SB1, the Tribune was quick to
answer in ink and cartoon the same old falsehood: pensions are the problem, not
the enormous debt created by half a century of ignoring the necessary payment (
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-illinois-budget-met-0104-20141231-story.html
- page=1) .
 |
| Too many people buy this line... |
The
consistently simplistic depictions by Scott Stantis illuminates their distaste
for pensions, not the dilemma Illinois has got itself into by not paying what
was due/promised for half a century. Their latest look at the budgetary crisis
facing our new governor, a tax-avoiding venture-capitalist obfuscated by vague
promises and ambiguous strategies, identifies “hard costs such as pensions and
pension borrowing” the pivotal cause of the state’s fall into the red.
Too many people
buy this line.
In addition, the
plaintiff theater provided by Rauner – like Claude Raines crying “I’m shocked”
in Casablanca – plays smoothly into
the Speaker’s Attorney-General daughter’s call for Police Powers to avoid the
death spiral that Illinois faces…that Rauner will accelerate?
Even
hard-working and seemingly thoughtful Paris Schutz seems suddenly convinced
that these factors and this puppetry will have some significant effect upon the
Illinois Supreme Court Justices. This
was his end-of-year prediction:
“I want odds on
this, Phil. The Illinois Supreme Court
is going to overturn the lower court hearing and uphold the pension reform
law.” (http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/video)
I’m getting a
few inspirations every hour now, and I kind of hope they stop – for a lot of
reasons, and I would imagine you could agree.
On the other
hand, I have to thank the stranger who reminded me of the only promise I can
hold onto as we prepare once again to do battle with the thieves that we’ve
elected.
 |
| Here's lookin' at us, Kiddo. |
Happy New Year.
Indeed, what we will never see published in the jaundiced Chicago Tribune is a full, investigative story regarding the state’s public retirement systems and why public employees are not responsible for the state’s budget deficit or for the underfunding of public sector funds.
ReplyDeleteWhat we will never see published in the jaundiced Chicago Tribune is an investigative story about the state’s underfunding of the pensions for several decades, the exorbitant interest payments for the debts incurred, the resultant tax breaks for the wealthy and the decreasing of state revenues and the increasing of corporate fraud and greed that have largely contributed to the budget problems in Illinois.
What we will never see published in the jaundiced Chicago Tribune is an editorial about Illinois legislators who diverted the state’s “constitutional and obligatory” contributions to other “operating expenses” and “special” interests for several decades, or an editorial about how the Teachers Retirement System of Illinois has depended mostly upon income from its own investments and contributions from its membership throughout the years.
What we will never see published and investigated in the jaundiced Chicago Tribune are the avarice, arrogance, irresponsibility, recklessness, corruption, and cronyism of the corporate and financial sector’s chief executives, the benefactors of many of the so-called Illinois policymakers.
Instead, we get plenty of "simplistic depictions."
P.S. "Happy New Year" to you too.
ReplyDeleteI recently read how much women are charged for "rape kits" when they file a police report. In some areas, female rape victims are charged thousands of dollars for their required medical exams. Yes, the victims are victimized by the legal system meant to protect them.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/09/26/rape_kit_costs_louisiana_rape_victims_are_paying_thousands_of_dollars.html
Retirees in Illinois may soon be charged 3% of their non-COLA income by the legal system meant to protect them. Of course, if today's court declares that retirees must not be victimized, the thieves we call lawmakers will make new laws to legally victimize retirees.
I want very much to believe, “Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.”
In spite of my sincere desire to see justice served, I know that we must fight and fight some more and more, and... We are fighting for what we justly deserve. The big money boys who sponsor both political parties simply want whatever we have - one slice at a time.
I hope you have a healthy new year and enjoy the moments of love and connectedness that make life meaningful.