![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/NasdaqOneYear.jpg\" "\\"NasdaqOneYear\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nOh, to work for the state.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n In Illinois, state government workers pay nothing for health-care benefits and many can retire as early as 50 or 55 with a pension that pays 80% of the average salary of their final four working years (a reason many seek heavy overtime in the last few years).<\/p>\n The situation is similar in most places.<\/p>\n Local politicians seeking election did deals with local unions. And the result is a ripoff of local taxpayers, like you and me.<\/p>\n Every New Year for the past 26, Bryon Wien issues his “Ten Surprises.” This year, the ten surprises is actually 20 surprises. Maybe that’s one of the “surprises.”<\/p>\n His surprise number 18 is “18. A major state fails to pay interest on a municipal bond issue because of a lack of funds, causing havoc in the municipal bond market.”<\/p>\n The other 19 surprises are not surprises, but extensions of what’s going on, i.e. things are getting better.<\/p>\n Wien also believes oil will rise to $115 a barrel.\u00a0 That will put major brakes on the economy’s recovery. I suspect that the price of oil is once again being manipulated. The rising price is not demand\/supply related. There’s plenty of oil in the world. World economies are simply not recovering that fast. I’m not playing the oil game. And I suspect you don’t also.For more, on oil and commodity manipulation, read my favorite book, Griftopia by Matt Taibbi.<\/p>\n You can read all 20 of Bryon Wien’s “Surprises” here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n New York thought 24 inches was bad.<\/strong><\/span> Try 20 meters in the Japanese Alps.<\/p>\n This week’s favorite New Yorker cartoons.<\/strong><\/span> First, the sickest:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n