-- 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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“They passed their own general fund plan before adjourning, acknowledging the $36 billion plan is at least $3 billion short on revenue.”
– from the article (a point that has been repeatedly made elsewhere as well)
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Illinois Review
May 17, 2014
Arn: Does Illinois’ Balanced Budget Matter?
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2014/05/arn-does-illinois-balanced-budget-matter.html
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So what can be done (constitutional amendment, legislative process) to prevent the General Assembly from passing a spending plan that is short of revenue?
Exactly what can be done, because apparently its legal for the General Assembly to pass unbalanced spending plans despite the language in the state constitution.