Pension costs, debt service, and "fixed expenses" are crowding out everything else.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

February 02, 2026   |   Read Online The Municipal Bond Squeeze Nobody Talks About Pension costs, debt service, and "fixed expenses" are crowding out everything else.     Dear Reader, Municipal bonds are supposed to be the steady lane of the market—funding roads, schools, and water systems while investors collect tax-advantaged income. But the stress investors should watch often starts inside the budget, long before it shows up in a bond's price. In the past two weeks, we've seen how quickly muni pricing can respond when supply rises and rates get jumpy, with municipal yields moving higher as rate volatility returned in mid-January—a reminder that munis can reprice quickly when supply builds and the broader bond market gets unsettled.         Do Not Ignore — This Government Project Won't Stay Quiet A small government task force just wrapped up a project nearly no one was paying attention to. What they confirmed stunned even the people who worked on it. Their findings unlocked a $500 trillion national resource - and under U.S. law, every American has a legal claim. That includes you. But opportunities like this don't stay quiet for long. Once Washington and Wall Street fully connect the dots, the early window closes. Click here now to see how to claim your piece while it's still possible.         Why This Matters City and county revenues come in unevenly. Property taxes hit in big installments. Sales taxes fluctuate with spending. State and federal aid can arrive late or shift between years. But many of the biggest bills are "fixed" and scheduled: pension contributions, retiree healthcare, and debt service. When those fixed costs rise faster than dependable revenue, they crowd out everything else—street repairs, staffing, park upkeep, even basic maintenance. That's how pressure reaches taxpayers without a headline: higher permit and parking fees, utility increases, deferred maintenance, and eventually higher borrowing costs when investors demand more yield for tighter finances.         Where Things Stand This January, the muni market is balancing strong seasonal demand against heavier supply. Forecasters are pointing to a large 2026 new-issue pipeline, and flows confirm investors have been putting money to work—municipal debt funds took in roughly $1.0 billion in the latest week. Those inflows help, but they don't change issuer math. On the budget side, the crowd-out mechanism is visible in real documents. Chicago's FY2026 materials describe a large budget gap driven by rising pension and personnel costs. And at the national level, public retirement obligations remain substantial: a January update from Equable put the public pension funding shortfall at about $1.27 trillion (improved from 2024, but still a major claim on future budgets).         The Patriot Perspective For investors, this means municipal credit work is really "budget work." Favor issuers with healthy reserves, realistic retirement funding, and essential-service revenues that people keep paying in good times and bad. In plain terms: the safest muni isn't the one with the best story—it's the one with the most breathing room. Stay steady, Kenneth Boyd Author, Finance Writer, Former Investment Advisor & CPA       Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2026 The Patriot Investor 6210 Wilshire Blvd Ste 200 PMB 756 Los Angeles, CA 90048, United States Terms of Service