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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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Article of possible interest:
Bill would deny early release for firearms crimes | Washington | thecentersquare.com
“House Bill 2094 was introduced by Rep. Jenny Graham, a Republican from Spokane”
Dead on Arrival. Sponsored by a Republican.
I forwarded this morning’s post on the “Source Code … of Anarchy” to all members of the Seattle City Council. Most of them walk to the left of AOC but some are starting to stumble over homeless muggers on their walk to city hall. Perhaps hope will arrive from the east on the wine truck from Walla Walla.
A discouraging report, but I do agree with the part about “relaxing” (how about “eliminating?”) RICO laws. Also, decriminalize drugs to eliminate a big part of gangsters’ income, reduce occupational licensing requirements to enable more opportunity. And some other things, but nobody wants to read a long comment.
Subtle solutions that consider the circumstances of each offender and bend over backwards to protect “his” civil rights make us feel good. But those solutions involve more-high paid public employees and lawyers for each offender. Setting up a prison colony in Haiti would be a lot less costly and perhaps reduce recidivism. Our constitution is the enemy of effective cures. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Enlightened governance asks a lot of its citizens and, because they vote, there is reason to fear what they will do (or whom they will vote for) as we do thought experiments… Read more »
Why even bother to formulate a plan. It would never be acceptable to the mongrels. What’s the point of living if you can’t shoot.
this pastor’s ideas on how solve the violence are as dumb as his idea to camp out in a roof for 100 days. One interesting thing he says is that they are all community. which is why progressives believe it’s better to release criminals back into the community than to punish them. I’ve been saying this for a while. This guy says he wants the Gangs back in control instead of the police. “ “Because they were my brothers and sisters at the end of the day. A criminal would help you, I found out, in a tough situation. And… Read more »
I share your assessment of the pastor’s ideas, but effective solutions are not obvious. From a quick read, the Second Amendment decisions are not clear about whether states or cities can prohibit gun possession by minors. Also “search and seizure” restrictions. I haven’t checked whether a gun could be confiscated without “due process,” which is to say “without just compensation.” Not sure what local or state laws in Illinois already provide but enforcement would not be easy in any event. Robust enforcement is hard to find in areas with the worst problems. I’ve sometimes thought that a federal sales tax… Read more »
There is one obvious solution – harsh penalties for those who illegally carry and use guns and stop and frisk. Mayor Bloomberg of NYC said this himself – criminals were so scared of being frisked while carrying so they stopped carrying altogether. It worked and NY’s violent crime rate plummetted and stayed low until the Racial Reckoning. The progressive left has abandoned this most obvious solution because of the consequences arising from incarceration disparately affect BIPOC. And, what no one wants to admit, is that they want the insular gang community to police itself and enforce its own code of… Read more »
“Not sure what local or state laws in Illinois already provide but enforcement would not be easy in any event. Robust enforcement is hard to find in areas with the worst problems.” Illinois has a FOID card and CCL. These gang banger cases are slam dunks for prosecutors because they have neither card. It’s the prosectors that drop the charges, or, have very little punishment for UUW (Unlawful Use of a Weapon) which is carrying a gun without a FOID. IIRC Kim Foxx straight up said these kids are young and feel the need to carry, and most of them… Read more »
These are standard solutions that have worked in the past — stop & frisk worked for a while in NYC and elsewhere. COVID + cost of incarceration + separate courts for juveniles + Soros-funded prosecutors have become substantial practical obstacles, particularly in Dem-controlled urban areas. Pigs will fly before Chicago voters and organized public employees will join in voting for people who would attempt to implement these solutions and then the Illinois courts would add further delay. I tend to think that a democratic republican form of government is unsuited to deal with the problems of lawless nihilists and craven… Read more »