-- 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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Lovely. Worst in the nation by every conceivable metric. There’s been some recent discussion on the comment threads about whether Illinois’ pending collapse will be a slow burn or a pop. I’m in the camp that thinks Illinois is one market correction away from a crisis which will be so severe that it can no longer be ignored by anyone. That in turn will lead to a very rapid descent into insolvency.
To paraphrase Hemingway…So how did you go bankrupt? Well, at first slowly, then abruptly.
Insolvency is what will force the pensions to be lowered, so I am ready for it. It is time to fix this issue once and for all, and insolvency will allow that.
Could be. One thing for sure is that Pritzker and the progs will be having the dirt shoveled on them and they’ll still be saying, “Nothing a few tax increases won’t solve.”
I agree. That is the public union line until the very end. It is code for denial.
At some point the Democrats will have to own the problem if Pritzker wins the election. Don’t see how they can blame it on Rauner. Kind of sad they are talking about things like legalizing marijuana. They could bring in revenue from selling crack cocaine, why not legalize that as well?