-- 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
Good luck collecting that from the criminal gangbangers, illegal aliens, and various welfare tarts that make up Chicago. I wonder how much it is per person who actually contributes to society vs the refuse community of losers and takers?
While I see the simplistic and symbolic value in the “debt per resident” figure, it ignores a huge player in the debt liability — local businesses. The fact is that businesses pay an inordinate amount of taxes at all levels. It is also the businesses that the local politicians attack first whenever they need money. They know that their not-so-bright constituents will enjoy that a tax is placed on businesses before them. Many of these constituents fail to make the connection that these taxes are completely passed on, and the business will either cut employees, other services, or raise prices… Read more »
I’d like to see this broken down “by taxable rooftops”, homes, apartments in one category and everything else in the other. It is through property that they will attempt to get this money, that’s where the value is.