Finance Expert Predicts We'll "Rue The Day"

Chicago City Council voted 41 - 7 with two aldermen absent. Hey, that's two more nay votes than the parking meter scam got. We're making progress.
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Cate Long covers municipal finance for Reuters online -- see her blog here. This is how she describes her beat:

I'm Cate Long and I write about the retail fixed income markets including municipal bonds. My primary interest is creating tools and systems to help retail investors understand bond markets. I've worked for a number of years with industry standards organizations, regulators and Congress to help craft a more transparent and fair framework for investors to participate in the fixed income markets. I'm a guest contributor to Reuters.com. Any opinions expressed are mine alone.

She was watching the Chicago City Council's live video feed of the vote to pass the Infrastructure Trust and tweeting out comments as the event unfurled. The vote was 41-7 with two aldermen absent. Hey, that's two more nay votes than the parking meter scam got. We're making progress.

Here are the most relevant messages she sent out:

  • "This debate has been colored by parking meter deal" says @ChicagosMayor "We continue to own assets here" But the cash flows? #chicouncil

  • Not really. #chicouncil RT @Jane_Roh: @cate_long Any examples of privatization paying off in a meaningful way?
  • There is no magic in privatizing public assets & cash flows. Chicago will rue day they passed public ownership to private hands. #chicouncil
  • Chicago's rating is Aa3, or what Moody's terms "high quality and very low credit risk" Instead city will privatize public assets #chicouncil
  • Private investors will earn 10 times what Mayor Daley got when he leased parking system to investors in 08 http://reut.rs/JDwFmR#chicouncil
  • Boston funds publicly, while Chicago goes private. Chicago will pay much more over time. #chicouncil http://reut.rs/JDwFmR
  • Did you catch that brief but ominous message: "Chicago will rue day they passed public ownership to private hands." I already rue this day. I know I'm going to pay for it.

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