And corruptocrats. Idiots and corruptocrats.
From Boondoggle, April 26:
....Back in 2008, Chicago leaders privatized the city’s parking meters, gifting Chicago Parking Meters, LLC — the main backer of which is the Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley — with an exclusive 75 year deal to run the meters, in exchange for $1.15 billion up front. It’s turned out to be an amazing deal for the investors: They’ve made a $500 million profit, with 61 years still to go on the contract. It’s worked out less well for Chicago drivers, who pay the highest parking rates of any large city, save for New York.
But that’s not really what bother me: Urban parking is a valuable commodity and should be priced accordingly. No, what bothers me is the non-compete clause the city included in the contract, which precludes it from doing anything that might dent the profits of the parking meters investors, even as the city’s transportation and transit needs change. It even forces it to pay a hefty chunk of change to the investment group every year, undermining the whole point of the deal in the first place....
....MUCH MORE
