-- 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
Covid revealed some financial vulnerabilities of senior living facilities that had always been there but were ignored during a rush to open facilities and pocket profits while tax benefits and government subsidies were available. Facilities were under-staffed and employees were generally low-skilled and underpaid. One could fill up a facility almost as fast as one could fill a tank with reasonably priced petroleum products. Demographics didn’t help as aging seniors could help keep the beds full. This reminds me of other fundamentally unsustainable “benefits” (including pensions) that would eventually cost more than customers could afford to pay and than governments… Read more »