-- 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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It sounds like the top 10 are smart about their retirement planning. Good for them. Nothing stopped others from doing the exact same thing.
“If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”
― Herbert Stein
Not sure you really understand what has happened in Taxistan over the past 10+ years. Higher and higher taxes to pay for the golden public sector pensions will only result in more and more Illinois taxpayers voting with their feet.
Clearly you have a severe case of cognitive dissonance.
I’m guessing you are a public sector union troll.
When I look back to 2010 I see tax revenue around 30 billion a year and I compare that to today’s tax revenue of around 50 billion. From 2010 to 2020 the state lost about 18k people yet revenue kept on increasing. Plenty of taxes left to be raised. Sure some people may leave but ultimately Illinois will have more taxes to pay the bills.
Illinois should raise the income tax and start taxing services. Maybe tax retirement income as well. Plenty left to tax.
That’s my attitude precisely. When we were all young we had lots of ways to engage in work and life in general. Some made good choices and some made poor choices. Now, later in life some of the latter choose to denigrate the former. They sometimes portray themselves as morally superior and soundly chastise those who made better choices, much to the glee of their similar-thinking peers. But, I have to say underneath that smug sense of personal moral superiority just as often there is a serious case lack of self esteem created by their bad career or job performance… Read more »
They try and hide their jealousy by complaining about the percentage of the budget that goes towards pensions but SS eats up just as much of the federal budget and somehow I never hear these same people demand that social security should be cut. Legally SS can be cut as it’s not a contract but they want to ignore the constitution for legal contracts. They complain about Pritzker not balancing the budget but didn’t care one bit when Rauner didn’t have ANY budget. They complain about Pritzker shorting pensions and act as if it is a new budget trick when… Read more »
Complainers love company, and they get huge numbers of think-alike allies here. Not everyone reaches a satisfactory financial situation anywhere in life, let alone during retirement. Some of the complainers perhaps never had enough adaptability, intelligence, the right skill set or maybe social connections that would have catapulted them to a higher rung. Then, fate and chance always have their say anyway. But, it’s SO more satisfying to blame the you-name-them “others” who are holding you back. Why bothering to look in the mirror for answers when there so many sets of clearly bad-actor “others” who clearly derailed your life’s… Read more »
One thing you Illinois union snapperheads can’t prevent is Illinoisans voting with their feet and leaving the Dem controlled cesspool of a state!!
People come and people go. Tax revenue keeps going up and pensioners keep getting their checks every month along with a 3% increase every January. Pensioners may leave as well. Freedom is grand.
It takes the promise of a six-figure pension to attract the best and brightest gym teachers. Taxpayers fail to understand that.
One word describes it “Unsustainable”.
The largest generational theft in history!!!
Sooner you get out of Illinois the sooner you stop paying for this BS.
The constitution needs to be fixed to ban unions. They can all work for minimum wage. Then we can lower the minimum wage to the federal minimum. Illinois public employee unions are the filthy cancer that is killing Illinois.
The corruption is staggering.
The Illinois Constitution need to be fixed — to remove the pension clause — that now serves as the state’s fiscal suicide note
It’s not suicide. It’s Murder.
Illinois is being brutally killed by its ruling class of Democrat Politicians.
For many the contributions were made by taxpayers via pension pickup either all or partial. Those in the university system the pension contributions were most likely made by the university as a benefit as part of their contract. I read about Leslie Heffez on the list a while back and his pension contribution was approx $775K and he made about $9M in total salary during his career and if he lives to be 85 he will collect approx $21,000,000. I believe he has a private practice as an oral surgeon. At the university he was a professor of oral surgery.… Read more »
Glad I voted with my feet over 20 years ago and am NOT paying for this RACKET in Taxistan.
Illinois public sector unions are da leeches bleeding da state dry!!