-- 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
USED TO BE A WONDERFUL PLACE TO LIVE TILL THE SOCIALISTS LEFTIES CRAZIES TOOK OVER…….YEAR 2000 WHEN IT BECAME REALLY CLEAR THINGS A CHANGIN’ AND NOT FOR THE BETTER…….SHAME ON THE VOTERS FOR LETTING THIS BS HAPPEN
The claim that 25% of Illinois residents say their state is the worst place to live comes from a Gallup Poll taken in 2013. I would love to know how or if that figure has changed in the last 10 years; I would not be surprised if it’s gone even higher. In that particular survey, by the way, Illinois was the ONLY state in which haters outnumbered lovers (those who said their state was the best or one of the best places to live). In Rhode Island and Connecticut, lovers and haters were tied. In every other state — even… Read more »
Connecticut and Rhode Island have had major brain drains. I know a guy from Connecticut. I had no idea it was so bad there, being an east coast Democrat hellhole ruined by the Democrats. He said every one smart leaves the state, no one stays. He ended up in Chicago.
As a lifelong downstate resident, I get why people hate Illinois, but what I don’t quite get is why other states with similar issues were not nearly as hated by their own residents in the Gallup Poll. Every neighboring state had far more lovers than haters. New York and California, as famously dysfunctional as they are, get more love than hate. You may have heard people say that “without Chicago, Illinois would be Iowa” but 56 percent of Iowans said they loved their state, compared to only 19% of Illinoisans, so they must be doing something right. Bad weather, lack… Read more »
I can tell you why people hate IL, and for the average joe, it comes down to the high real taxes and high cost of living, combined with the politically dysfunctional $hitshow the entire state is. People see that gas is $1.00 cheaper a gallon over the border, and their neighbor just moved to some other state and bought a bigger, newer house with half the taxes. IL has some of the smallest homes in the nation and the taxes are outrageous. So you can move to almost any other state and get a bigger house for less taxes: https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/mortgages/articles/how-big-is-your-home-here-is-the-average-home-size-by-state/… Read more »
As Mark states Illinois leans center. If that’s correct you have a whole bunch of people hating all the leftist crap that goes on here.
Many aren’t even aware of the leftist crap that goes on here. Springfield is a bit of a black hole in terms of political reporting, where a guy like Rich Miller almost entirely controls the narrative out of Democrats. News media is essentially bought off with promises of campaign advertising dollars to not say bad things about JB or his Democrat party. When I say political dysfunction, it goes 3 of the last 6 governors going to jail, constant corruption trials, high taxes from corruption, and the entire pay-to-play system of government. And a not insignificant number of normies actually… Read more »
IL voters and politicians believe that doubling down on ‘full libtard’ progressive policies is the only solution to making Illinois a better place to live.
Maybe in the end diversity will save the US- diversity in governance, not in skin color.