-- 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 feel as if pension payments and the related debt is groundhog day in Illinois. It is always in the conversation, yet nothing is ever done to address it. Any corruption in politicians is mirrored by the same in the legal system. The residents need to vote out judges that say pension benefits cannot change. According to “Illinoispolicy.org,” 15% of IL’s workers belong to a union. That doesn’t seem enough to allow them to stand there with the plug for the Titanic and watch it go down at the expense of all those on board. Any solution would have to… Read more »
We all have our own version of “pension reform.” Yours is creative but hardly unique at its core beliefs. Some of your “solutions” aren’t likely any more workable legally than others we’ve seen, but keep them if it helps you to sleep better.
Have you heard from anyone in office now about looking into all the fees and hands the money dedicated to pension payments by the public is costing taxpayers? When the money leaves our hands via property or state income taxes how many organizations are getting paid at each step to process that money. The people who got the contracts to invest are very well politically connected. Billions upon billions every decade go to processing which is taken off the top. Here is an article from 2015 for Calpers pension system in California. They have since reduced some fees but the… Read more »
Yes, I’ve seen your earlier postings on this topic, and I agree with your point of view. But, I don’t know that the whole administrative costs will ever come down. Do we really want the lowest-bidder here? Maybe, but the bigger issue is how effective are they compared to competitors. I can’t answer that, but those in power presumably think about it or at least should do so. Politics always has involved some degree of “what’s in it for me” sorts of decisions, and I’d have to suppose that plays some part here as well. So, replacing company X with… Read more »
Really — 3 years in office and no answers for pensions — bet he has no problem solving issues of pancakes