-- 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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“NASCAR, city promoters promise street race to be economic boon for Chicago” Ask the folks in Joliet how much money NASCAR has brought in. Especially with Chicagoland Speedway shuttered the last three racing seasons. Ask the folks in Cicero how much money Chicago Motor Speedway brought in. Oops, you can’t, CMS closed over twenty years ago and a Wal-Mart sits atop what used to be part of the track. (Probably brings in more tax money too). I follow auto racing and want races to succeed but I’m willing to bet this race is probably going to be a “Three and… Read more »
There’s another car race of sorts to see who can drive out of Chicago, Cook County and the State of Illinois the fastest.
Just leave any Democratic Party voting habits behind or you’ll foul your new nest.
Like the Olympics, which always promise much and deliver nuthin but debt in the end, I wonder what-it-will-cost-who to fill up all these hotel rooms-n-restaurants after closing a public park for a month and barricading streets and rerouting traffic & etc, etc.
Any economist will tell you that these sorts of economic impact projections — used to gain support for public spending — are nothing but puffery and fraud
https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/economists-financial-impact-of-sporting-events-including-mlbs-all-star-game-often-overstated/7FFKEVMYEBBC3MPUFPLEXFFZDY/