-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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There’s a lot of wealth in the hands of the elderly and seniors in this country. I don’t blame the millennial and younger for partying like it’s 1999. Some of them are going to inherit good money; plenty of new opportunities for advancement at work if some of the senior leadership passes away. Lots of estate sales for homes will be put up for sale at reasonable prices. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, it ends of the more ridiculous pension payments to recipients. Quite frankly, as a generation, it’s in their best self-interest if some 70 and 80 year olds die. Heck,… Read more »
You’re brave enough to say what I’ve been thinking for several days. Much of the world is burdened by entitlements that were created when life expectancies were much shorter. Pensions and retiree health funds will see an actuarial gain. Life insurers may or may not be hit because those who still hold policies may already have outlived their life expectancies at the time the policies were issued. Doubtless actuaries and consultants will rush in to adopt new tables and the underfunding will vanish overnight. Pritzker will take the credit. Get a younger spouse immediately or your ungrateful kids will drive… Read more »