-- 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 honestly doubt there’s a consensus for this type of change. Republicans in Republican states will go for it, but I don’t think anyone else will. Downstate Illinois Republicans or upstate NY Republicans won’t like the idea of losing huge amounts of Medicaid due to a formula designed to punish states with high incomes/high costs of living. I also don’t think Republicans in blue states would want to push their main cities into recession by taking away billions in discretionary income by eliminating state and local tax deductions. These guys presumably understand that economic activity in Chicago and NYC directly… Read more »
Jaz, I don’t know if you’re right, but one thing I’m confident saying: These issues are truly historical in importance. The model of government we have in these blue cities isn’t close to being sustainable. Chicago is at the front. This is a big deal.