-- 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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I don’t think voters are willing to take any more “pain” to see the state of IL try to upright itself, again. The pols sold that when they increased the state income tax, saying it would get the bills paid on time. Meanwhile, the pension reform never materialized and our state reps just gave themselves a big raise. IN and WI are a short drive away. They keep thinking people need to live in the state. Not so, and especially when major companies are leaving. It is time for a better plan.
“Every Illinoisan is supposed to get a $50 check from the government, topping out at a maximum of $300 for families with children. A crisp fifty dollar bill is always welcome, but it won’t change lives by much. It could, however, make voters remember Pritzker a little more fondly in November.”
It will anger people to receive such a pittance on the high taxes we pay as a state. Pritzker has no idea what things costs, he probably thinks $300.00 is a worker’s average weekly wage..