-- 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.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
Unsustainable.
A problem that was predicted as likely from the moment Tier 2 was proposed.
The solution to which – no matter what it might be – of course being guaranteed to be protected from any future impairment or reduction.
Even if the ‘solution’ also turns out to be a mistake full of unhappy consequences.
When Social Security goes into the tank and reduces benefits, will the “equalization” go away? Perhaps that is the reason for the rush — peg Tier 2 to a current Social Security beneit. Fire fighters have a much greater claim to “hero” status than grocery clerks, of course, but it’s foreseeaable that there will be federal bailouts for all down the line. So much voter self-interest is on the line that every election year will be a Jubilee year and the debt ceiling will be eliminated. High incomes and wealth will be taxed to the max. Importance of public safety… Read more »
And the City still lists a defined benefit pension as one of the benefits for all new hire Firemen and Police.
What is one of the first rules to get out of debt? Stop digging!
The teachers are next.
So much for lowering pension liabilities with the Tier2 pensions.