An organization I belong to has hundreds of members. During a recent general membership meeting, one of them stood up and pitched the idea that the group should be selling his brand of electricity to the rest of us as a fundraiser.
The board of directors asked him to confirm whether his is a multi-level marketing venture. The response: “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Thus the retail electricity market in the era of “unbundling” the costs of energy supply from those of delivery suddenly appeared to take on a somewhat pyramidal shape. The meeting incident plus my own community’s pursuit of a municipal energy aggregation program prompted me to investigate these developments more closely.
In the famous Star Trek episode The Trouble with Tribbles, the crew of the Enterprise finds itself in danger of being swamped by the incredible growth rate of what at first appeared to be adorable little creatures. Tribbles are an apt metaphor for employee pension systems that threaten to consume so much of an employer budget that the fundamental mission of the employing unit is imperiled.
On the surface, no one except a grinch could begrudge a generous pension, just as only the sour and malevolent Klingons disliked tribbles. Wouldn't we all like to retire in fuzzy comfort? The problem with pensions lies in growth rates.
The following is a non-ideological look at how and why defined benefit systems have been cratering under their own weight and would do so even if all contributions had been made. In particular, defined benefit plans with the payout levels now seen in Illinois and many other jurisdictions are only sustainable if high levels of return on invested funds are achieved. To assume such rates, however, is to disregard sound, conservative planning principles in favor of wishful thinking.
The following gets a little wonky and requires a graphic aid. The spreadsheet below, seen here as a JPG and downloadable as an Excel file if you click here, illustrates the built-in tribble-like problem. The spreadsheet uses a simple example of a 1-person pension plan, looking at just one employee's contributions and withdrawals. Bear in mind that the results would hold for a 100- or 1000-person plan. As I discuss in detail below the fold, what the math reveals is the workings of a fiscal time bomb.
BILL TITLE: Making appropriations for military construction, the QUESTION: On Agreeing to the Conference Report H R 2055 YEA-AND-NAY 16-Dec-2011 1:46 PM Link to Full Vote - 2012 Appropriations
On November 13th, Team HOPE heard from Lauren Taylor, a member of the Communications Committee (iirc) from OccupyChicago.
I reached out to OccupyChicago for a couple of different reasons. First of all, one of our members is the driving force behind OccupyHomewood, which has held protests in front of the Chase Bank on 183rd in Homewood. But I also wanted to start a discussion on what kind of effect the OWS movement might have on the 2012 elections (which is a major organizing interest of Team HOPE).
The discussion we had was very lively. Both sides of the discussion represented their viewpoints well and with respect. And the people who attended got a lot out of it.
This video clip is Lauren's introduction. Because no one really mans the cameras, there was no practical way of recording the whole discussion.
Chicago’s Board of Trade building (1930) is a sentinel of agrarian capitalism. Captured by its stone façade are two emblems of agriculture, an Egyptian holding a stalk of wheat and a Native American a sheaf of corn. They are hooded and tired, defeated by combine harvesters and phosphates, by the congealed capital of the vast agro-businesses that turned the fields into factories. Watching the development of this new kind of farming, John Steinbeck wrote, “The monster has to have profits all the time. When the monster stops growing, it dies. It can’t stay one size.”
Corn bushels and hog bellies would be traded in the Board of Trade’s pit, adding financial turbulence to the normal trials of nature that afflict farmers. Soon the commodities of the soil would no longer be center stage, as the Board of Trade grew to be an enormous base for the trading of derivatives (it merged with the Mercantile Exchange, and as the Chicago Merc is the largest trading platform for derivatives). Fictions on fictions sucked in social wealth. No wonder that the Board of Trade decided to build its mausoleum across the road from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Agriculture had been handed over to Money.
(Broken up for faster front page loading. - promoted by wegerje)
Several Occupy Illinois groups came together Saturday in Springfield for Occupy Your State Capital Day. I've been to enough protest rallies that it gets routine, but this event had some of the most exciting, energetic moments I've seen at any grass-roots political event.
A WAND TV reporter posted a short video that gives a feel for the day.
It started with reading a proclamation from Occupy Wall Street. Then several Occupy groups from central Illinois, including Occupy Peoria, were given a chance at the mic. Bloomington-Normal brought a large delegation and had someone sing a great song on banjo.
Occupy groups from across Illinois will be in Springfield for the national day of action happening at state capitals. Reporters may be forced to write a new narrative other than "they don't know what they're protesting for."
I have been scornful of Representative Mike Quigley of IL-05. I have always wanted him to represent his district more progressively. More like Jan or Jesse. I get it that his district is considered somehow less progressive than Jan's northern lakefront district or Jesse's southern poverty district. But frankly that argument doesn't wash with me as I consider it a messaging and framing issue. If Paul Wellstone can represent the same state as Jesse Ventura then Mike can represent a district of quite comparable politics.
So when I saw that Bernie Sanders and thirteen others have composed a letter demanding an investigation of the environmental disaster that is the Keystone XL Pipeline I immediately opened the letter to see if Jan had signed on so I could tout her here.
With the upcoming G8 and NATO summits, sure to attract thousands of protesters, scheduled to take place in Chicago in early 2012, along with the continual success of Occupy Chicago, the hierarchy is faced with a legitimate challenge to their corruption and greed. This not only explains the reason for the crackdown, but indicates that those in power resistant to the changes brought by the international Occupy movements recognize our success and fear it will continue. (It will!)
"Stack" is some kind of "Occupy" jargon. Already they(/we) have a specific jargon. Unless I am showing my age here. From Here.
# Stack: One of the things we have a big issue about is a number of homeless people who are not part of the movement taking advantage of our materials.
# Stack: Cab drivers union offers help with transportation.
# Stack: Everyone needs the National Lawyers guild hotline: 773-309-1198
# Stack: "Homeless problem" discussion. The homeless are our comrades, we need not disparage them.
# Stack: Whatever the workshop is tonight, can someone take the minutes?
AP reports that 22 year Democratic Congressman Jerry Costello, from Illinois' downstate 12th District, won't seek re-election, giving Republicans a better chance to pick up the district:
Costello, the senior Democrat on the House's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has held the 12th District seat since 1988 and wielded considerable clout...Insisting that he long has said since being first elected he'd never be a career congressman, Costello added that "you can't go from 100 mph every day and just stop. I intend to continue to go full speed pursuing other interests and opportunities that may come along," perhaps including consulting, teaching and charity work...The Illinois Republican Party's chairman (Pat Brady) cheered the news, insisting that replacing Costello - a former St. Clair County board chairman who has been the longest-serving Democrat in Illinois' congressional delegation - with a GOP candidate would be one of that party's top priorities next year.
