Here's an opportunity to generate a massive, safe income stream.

[E. Blackadder]

Parking Meter Futures.

Hizzoner Michael Bloomberg in New York has decided to do his own version of the Chicago infrastructure bake sale; the city announced that it is putting up nearly 90,000 parking meters for lease. They’re expecting to get over $11 billion in upfront money from the deal, which is great news if you’re Mike Bloomberg, who gets to use that money to patch current budget holes instead of making tough cuts or raising taxes. The news is less awesome for the next half-dozen New York City mayors, or for the citizens of New York, who now will get to spend most of the 21st century grappling with its increasingly monstrous deficits with a major tributary from the city’s revenue stream shut off.

A New York parking meter deal, like the Chicago deal, would be a perfect example of the deeply cynical short-term thinking of many American politicians these days. These deals involve a sitting executive selling off a valuable piece of city property at a steep discount to private financial interests (often, to friends or campaign contributors), in order to solve a current cash flow problem that, surprise, surprise, will still be there the year after you finish spending the proceeds of your sale.

Surely American insurance companies, run with the help of American Fellows of one or both actuarial societies can see the benefits of buying dollar bills for considerably less than a dollar.



OK, it's technically purchasing an annuity, (New York City parking meters), but a similar deal worked just fine for Abu Dhabi, when it bought Chicago parking for 75 years.

Taibbi calls this a "bait and switch" pulled by Morgan Stanley on Chicago. He explains why this is about more than just parking meters. Now if city officials want to do anything that might disrupt parking meter revenue -- let's say close down parking for a street festival or parade -- they need to get the approval of those meters' shadowy, foreign owners. They also need approval to change parking hours or fees. The new ownership has already made unwelcome changes, ending the previous policy of allowing free parking on holidays. But not only did Chicago cede the operation of an entire segment of the city to mysterious private investors -- Taibbi says they could have gotten four times as much money for it, up to $5 billion.

If you have a massive annuity operation, this would hedge the sucker like nobody's business.