Short of money today but pretending that money will come in the future.

Officials from 17 school districts and Mayor Tom Potter's staff have met for months to discuss possible taxes that could raise money for education. Phillips said the May tax measure could be regionwide or limited to Portland, but that she and the school board wouldn't make large budget cuts without first asking for additional funding.
[ Portland could face more cuts to schools ]

The promise to spend money that does not exist is, in a word, unlawful. So . . . where is the DA anyway?

Go read this.

The Problem of "fails to deliver" - "That may be the case. But without better data on stocks that failed to deliver, the rest of us will never know for sure. FTDs are a growing problem anmounting to... [MoverMike]

Pension actuaries might someday get some scrutiny too, along with the Pension Obligation Bond peddlers. It is no surprise that the focus is on Final Average Salary calculations and on lump sum withdrawals. Maybe we might one day get to go after the lawyers and investment bankers that feed off the whole scheme . . . and their political allies.

Spotlight on actuaries after pensions proposals
By Robert Budden, Personal Finance Editor
Published: August 5 2005 22:32 | Last updated: August 5 2005 22:32

uk pensionsThe government is reviewing the powers of actuaries in light of recent controversial proposals that could force companies running final salary pension schemes to pay out much higher transfer values to members.

In May, the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries put forward proposals that would, if adopted, require many schemes to pay out much bigger lump sums to employees who cash in their final salary pensions.

GOP gets a little scrutiny for involvement in Pension Obligation Bonds in Illinois. It is about time.

GOP bigwig gets millions touting investment firm
Lobbyist is a winner in pension board pact

By Ray Long and Christi Parsons
Tribune staff reporters
Published August 7, 2005

SPRINGFIELD -- A top national Republican official criticized for collecting hefty payments as a consultant in Illinois has received $3.1 million in fees from an investment firm that does business with the state teacher pension board.

Robert Kjellander, who on Friday was named treasurer of the Republican National Committee, is a longtime friend of President Bush's political strategist Karl Rove. He is also one of the state's premier lobbyists and collected the fees as part of his representation of The Carlyle Group, whose board of directors once included the first President Bush.

It must be offical then, the housing bubble, because Forbes says so. I do wonder how many folks got in their short positions during that last few months so as to make a killing?

The housing sector exchange traded fund ($HGX) dropped 3 percent today, Friday, August 5, 2005.

Can the Fed negotiate a soft landing for real estate, or will their ongoing tightening prick a bubble and cause a hard crash in housing prices? No one can answer that with certainty. But historically, it’s difficult to let the air out slowly, even with aggressive Fed easing. In spite of a record 11 discount rate cuts in 12 months, the landing for technology stocks was anything but soft.

Forbes.com: Wall Street's Fate Caught Up With Housing