-- 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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Moderating Debt? What!! I guess Fitch can’t do basic math on long term liabilities like unfunded pensions, health care for retiree obligations, etc. Oh, but if you keep in mind that the City of Chicago pays for these compromised opinions, it makes more sense. Is Fitch really gong to tell the ugly truth about the guy who sends them the pay check? Unlikely would you say?
Hilarious. Simply hilarious. Fitch must be really hard up for work. If you don’t know how these rating agencies work, watch The Big Short.
“”The upgrade was “driven by a decline in the city’s long-term liability burden stemming from steady growth in the economic resource base and improved debt management practices,” Fitch wrote in the report.”
Followed by:
“His $16.6 billion spending plan for 2024, unveiled last week, includes $187 million more in revenue than projected as recently as last month.”
Unbelievable….
There’s a word for the rating agencies: Whores.