-- 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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Solution: pay higher up-front salaries and eliminate defined-benefits for new hires; replace early retirement post-20-year vesting period with a time value similar to nurses relying on social security (age 67) with defined contribution 401K plans just like nurses who now work 50% more hours for similar salaries and none of the same benefits.
Win for taxpayers, win for nurses, win for new teachers.
Old grandfathered defined-benefits -entitlement leeches will eventually attenuate their devastating destructive sucking effect on Illinois, although their lifespans will be higher than mean and median due to taxpayer-funded OPEB insurance defined benefits.
Maybe they could start hiring traveling teachers at 3k to 7k a week.
Better still: some bankruptcies structured to result in “reasonable” pensions by eliminating the “excesses.” Admittedly, these concepts are difficult to define and the actuarial games that have misled us all compound the difficulty. Social Security is somewhat based on the concept of providing a base pension for long-service workers. Of course, it would be hard to keep politicians [and their appointed Federal Bankruptcy Judges] immune to union tampering. But perfect would be the enemy of the good. Obviously, this would have to be enabled by Federal law, which is no easy task, but the alternative is to reap the harvest… Read more »
I went to a Catholic grade school where 40+ kids in the classroom was normal. I have photos to prove that. One nun or lay teacher, who I didnt have until the 5th grade ran the show. High school not much different, 30+ smelly teenagers in classrooms with no air cconditioning. No social media either, read a book. Spelling contests, geography quizzes, math challenges filled the school day. Many of my fellow classmates went on to be business owners, doctors, professionals, police officers, firemen, nurses etc. Cry me a river.
Yes, and wasn’t that a glorious era? It may still be essentially the same in some select places, but overall the scene you’ve given is long gone, a sad tale for us all.