-- 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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Tribune says ” Retirees should get every penny owed them. But future pension costs have to come down.” Ummm….no. The +$100K pensions need to be the first to be cut. All pensions for forme state senators, representatives and governors need to be eliminated.
The triple dipping and even the egregious double dipping pensions need to be eliminated.
When I retire, I’ll get just one check from social security. Not a separate check for every job that Ive ever had.
That’s what you signed-up for at the beginning while knowing the result. Others signed-up for a different result presumably knowing that result. I understand your envy/anger, but where’s the legal basis her for your point of view?
Legal basis isn’t important. The financial reality is what matters. The state doesn’t have this money and NEVER will. The arithmetic is inexorable. This is all going to happen. So get ready for a haircut.
I don’t disagree, but tat’s not the point of my response to the emotional slant of your argument. Emotion has little to no impact in a legal sense. It’s the overall fairness and the sense of balance/imbalance to the affected public workers and retirees as well as society generally that matters far more if you want to make a stronger argument. The best anyone can hope for is a deal that requires reasonable compromise for all concerned. I rarely read even a hint of that here.