-- 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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The region has little new home building because the region is not growing. There’s no need to build new subdivisions without population growth. The one brightside is that there’s a lot of tear-downs and spec infill housing in areas with higher prices per square foot. Lots of old, smaller ranches being replaced with bigger McMansion type homes in upper middle class areas that attract professional and managers, which is entirely consistent with the demographic trends in the Chicago region. But on the other hand, formerly working class areas have turned, you know, really rough, as illegal immigrants overwhelming communities with… Read more »
Only rent in Illinois. Owning a house is like having herpes. People are fleeing because of high taxes. It is only going to get worse. The pensions crisis is a time bomb, and it is exploding right now. Run for your economic life. The will tax all the equity out of your house and then some.