-- 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
New Illinois state motto; “Stay and Pay, Leave and Save”.
Vallas’ author’s a very illustrative picture of Illinois’ problems but the one that most plainly strikes at me is regarding Illinois’ student rankings at “34.6% in reading and 26.9% in math.” This seems in contrast with the “what about the children” chants we used to hear so often at times? Can we now assume that Illinois’ voters are apathetic about their children’s education too? Maybe the voters are not apathetic and are merely products of the Illinois school systems and taught that this is normal. Either way it is a disaster for the State, parents and most of all, the children.
It’s a disaster for the country, too. These kids will become adults in the U.S. working world. Japan’s, China’s, South Korea’s, and some other countries’ kids are kicking our kids’ butts in STEM proficiency. That means these other countries will have the inventors and other noteworthy achievers, and we’ll have the workers struggling to figure out how much change you should get for your purchase at the store.
Yes, and no. The PISA test is given every three years to 15 year olds in dozens of countries worldwide. They test language and math skills. The US does above average overall, but falls below many other asian and western european countries. However, the devil is in the details and the details are actually good for the US. The US breaks down PISA scores by race of the test taker. US White and Asian students in the US have some of the highest test scores in the world. Yes, in the world. Only China and Singapore score higher. The China… Read more »
I know that this is just reading proficiency, but here is a mean of the 2022 reading, math and science
https://twitter.com/cremieuxrecueil/status/1732087511327908128
@cremieuxrecueil
“With the latest PISA results, America has proven once again that it has one of the smartest populations and, perhaps, the best education systems. American Asians and Whites topped the charts; American Hispanics beat all other Hispanics; American Blacks did well. “
Thanks for both of your posts. The PISA 2022 Worldwide Ranking shows the U.S. with a disappointing rank of 18th in the world for an average score of math, science, and reading. I was commenting on the U.S. as a whole, not segregated by ethnicities, which is consistent with the approach used in most sites that posted the results.