It’s easy to spend other people’s money

Mayor Richard Daley has made a gigantic financial commitment on behalf of the City of Chicago. Unfortunately he made this commitment using taxpayer money not his own. See the following story:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-olympics-host-city-18-jun18,0,6793037.story

Consider the following paragraphs:

• In a worst-case situation, such as severe cost-overruns or a catastrophic event, the agreement could leave taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars or even more, a scenario Chicago's bid team acknowledges but insists is far-fetched.
  
• The move surprised Chicago aldermen, who wondered why Daley had made a sweeping financial promise without bringing it to the City Council.

In this case the Chicago aldermen are witnesses to the current status of government. Local, state and federal leaders are crafting polices, regulations and laws without any regard for their constitutional authority. This is most evident at the federal level where each new “crisis” is solved by unconstitutional expansion of federal power. The Chicago alderman would be justified in nullifying the Olympic agreement that the Mayor has signed but they are not willing to risk the wrath of Daley. This is the “Chicago Way”.