-- 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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I am completely fed up with our civic elites pussy footing around, like Ferguson from Civic Federation here. This piece is absolutely right as far as it goes, but it’s the kind of technical criticism you would make in ordinary times. These are no ordinary times. Chicago is staring into the abyss. The harshest words and the most drastic remedies are long overdue, not quibbling about bond terms. Civic Federation and Civic Committee have become nearly worthless, being dominated by crony capitalists, lefties and cowards.
Best plan for Chicago is bankruptcy to eliminate the massive pension debt and renegotiate all contracts.
It won’t eliminate pension debt and you can renegotiate contracts when they are up. CTU members are currently working without a contract and in the process of negotiating a new one. Do you actually think this renegotiation will actually result in a less expensive contract? None of what you ever recommend will be a magic pill for Chicago even though you repeat them constantly.