You're Very Welcome From Dublin

As he wakes in his hotel suite in Chicago, Brian Cowen will find that the weather is similar to what he left behind in Ireland when he departed for his St. Paddy's tour of the States. It's raining. It's cold. Not a soft day today by any means.

He'll walk in the parade, along the wide expanse of Columbus Drive that parallels the lakefront. From underneath the protection of a black umbrella, he may notice the tall boxes distributed at precise intervals along the curb, standing guard over every single square inch of available car-parking space.

Ireland is flat broke. There's not enough money coming in to meet the high cost of a government that wants to meet the citizen's every need. The non-descript payment centers may provide a much needed spark for Mr. Cowen's ponderings on the red ink spilling out of the Exchequer.

Not a penny of revenue drops into Chicago's coffers from those parking meters. Instead, Mayor Richard Daley leased the rights to collect the fees to a private company, which in turn paid the city many millions of dollars for the seventy-five year contract.

Chicago is flat broke. There's not enough money around to meet the high cost of corruption and sweetheart deals in the City That Works. Taxes are astronomical and people are moving out, to other states. An Taoiseach Brian Cowen can well relate to that scenario.

As he dodges the rain drops, he'll consider the possibility that the private parking meter firm would be interested in the concession for all of Ireland. Pay to park on every road in the island; in front of every shop and pub from Donegal to Youghal. What might that be worth? A billion euros perhaps? Enough to put the slightest dent in the deficit?

Mayor Daley could take Mr. Cowen for a tour of the Chicago Skyway, a toll road that has been leased for ninety-nine years. A much needed billion dollars arrived in the city's treasury with that clever scheme. Why not install electronic tolling along every major road in Ireland and lease the streets?

This junket may be all about boosting tourism and perhaps enticing a business or two to set up a tax shelter in Ireland. Mr. Cowen may very well come away with some fresh ideas to ease the burden on his ministers, all under fire as one budget cut after another is announced.

What do the people of Chicago think of the lease arrangement?

Parking fees skyrocketed, and so did the tolls on the Skyway. But it wasn't their taxes being raised, was it?