Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration delayed Wednesday’s planned sale of $500 million in construction bonds, saying a recent credit downgrade because of inaction on government worker pension reform left the market “unsettled.”
The decision was made after officials with the governor’s budget office spoke with potential bidders who indicated they would seek interest rates higher than what the state wanted to pay.”
In a bond market when there is uncertainly, you pay an extra premium, which we decided was imprudent to pay,” said John Sinsheimer, director of capital markets for the state. “So we pulled them, and will bring the back at a future date when everything has settled down.”
via Chicago Tribune.
Pathetic.
The first thing to do when you’re in a hole is stop digging. Quinn has the right idea… now may not be the best time to issue more bonds. But because the finances are so bad pretty soon he will not have a choice. More debt — at higher interest rates — is our future.
More troubling however is note how the Gov’s office is not waiting until they actually fix anything. He’s not going to defuse the pension time-bomb. He and The Machine are not going to balance the budget or develop a long term spending plan to correct the state’s deficit. The plan is to merely wait until “everything has settled down.”
We deserve so much better than that.
So alas… people don’t like to hear bad news and will continue to vote for Santa Claus. We need not be real. Just keep voting for the guy who tells you it’s somebody else’s problem.
We’re so screwed.
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