Thanks for the hat-tip and at same time glad you recognize the mess we are all in.

The muni issue I have occasionally attempted to stir-a-bit is, unfortunately not new — it's been around for many decades and has always been the apple that caused societal rot. (look at the Rust-Bucket states and their debt loads). The only new-ness is the scale of the game and how muni's are often tied (bundled) into (backed by) theoretical sure-bet prime real-estate mortgages (insurance co's like AIG). In other words lot's of hands were/are in the till or under the table continuing to Make Off with the goods leaving behind eventual ruin. Now that real-estate value has dropped into a potentially bottomless pit muni's are becoming harder to finance, especially those being refinanced. Those that are getting financed (with today's low interest rate) may have all kinds of baggage tied to them, as well as higher front-end load & back-end retirement fees.

Issuing municipal bonds for so-called infrastructure needs (water, sewer, roads, schools, etc., etc., etc.) is merely laying down the plastic and hoping that all goes well in the future so the bet-debt(s) can be re-paid and not have to be re-financed again and again. just like millions of people who used their homes as ATM's.

Serious diggin is required to find out how deep this cess-pool actually is; but don't expect help because airing dirty laundry does not bode well for the constant issuance of these muni's or those promoting this debt upon future generations.

At this point, it seems to me that we have a decade or more long effort on the part of several big financial firms to conspire to rig bids and price fix. Part of this included the “necessary cost” donating relatively tiny sums (in comparison to their profits off the contracts) to the PAC’s and campaigns of the sucker politicians in the states and localities where they were doing business. While some idiots were stupid enough to allow themselves to be outright bribed, they were usually low-level local pols, lacking the sophistication and savvy of bigger profile politicians who mostly didn’t cross the legal–not necessarily ethical–line. The banks and financial firms acted like professional con artists who worked every angle to get what they wanted: over payment for their services, and friendly faces in all the high places needed to continue their scam.

I suspect we will find Richardson did not personally cross the necessary legal lines here for him to be facing any prosecution. He’s not as dumb or as sociopathic as the Blago-style politicians of the world. The irony is that he who seems to be the master of the legal “pay-to-play” may have actually been a victim, not only of CDR but of some closely associated unscrupulous folks who were REALLY responsible for pulling off this dea–and got paid nicely for it!

Carter Bundy’s post below nails it as usual on these issues. Once again, we’re such a bunch a chumps here in the Land of Enchantment for failing to demand transparency from our government and politicians. This story is far, far bigger than the New Mexico aspect of it.

Anything short of transparent and honest accountability to meaningful standards of conduct and competence

is only a step in the right direction.

If surveyed, a majority of New Mexicans would opt to end the culture of corruption in New Mexico government.

Yet we find ourselves begging them for any small part of what we deserve.

If public servants had any intention of ever holding themselves honestly accountable for their public service
it would have been done a long time ago.

Corruption and incompetence will not be ended by those who benefit from tolerating and enabling them.

The terms of public inservitude are the prerogative of the public, not of the servant.

Gary King refuses to prosecute the State Land Commissioner in the biggest “pay to play” political scandal in this states history, but refuses to, likely because his cousin Jerry King works there and is likely knee deep in the scandal.

And the Governor, well, again who cares!!!
Logic is a lost language…

Perhaps Gary and Bill Richardson may as well hire Henry Kissinger to be the lobbyist for their ethics package!