How a series of Democrat mayors and public-employee unions has Chicago $28 BILLION in the hole

One of the keys to the electoral success of Democrats (and their fellow-travellers on the GOP side, called "RINOs") is that they promise the voters "free" stuff.  This works because at least 40 percent of the electorate is too damn stupid to recognize the incredibly basic truism that nothing is free--someone has to pay for it.

Of course as long as one can postpone the day of reckoning indefinitely, this "works" (in the sense that the Dems keep getting elected).  Unfortunately, it's not possible to put off that day indefinitely.

Makes no difference to Dem pols (and their RINO pals), cuz they're confident that economics is so complex--and so little understood by most voters--that they can always dodge all blame, and retire on lavish pensions.

"City Journal" has an excellent review of how this works, specifically in Chicago.  Of course you don't live there, but seeing how that city got in trouble--and the increasingly scammy ways it's trying to keep on doing things the same way--is VERY instructive.

Short answer:  Public-employee unions have demanded high salaries and outrageously generous pensions.  A long string of Democrat mayors--recognizing that the key to continued election was to court this bloc--agreed.  Cuz after all, it cost the pols nothing.  And the local media played along, cuz the media love Democrat pols.

Next, corrupt judges gave public employees unusual, special legal protections--specifying that cities couldn't reduce their pensions by any amount at all.  Nice deal, eh?

Finally, politicians of all stripes want to spend money on things that get them elected, so instead of paying the amounts necessary to fund the known pension obligations, the pols shorted the pension fund and spent those amounts on...well, I'm sure someone must know where that money went.

So now Chicago pensions for city employees is underfunded by $28 BILLION.

Go read the article.  It's a great education on how corrupt or moronic pols, powerful unions and a totally cooperative local media combine to create a perfect storm.