-- 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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What I am amazed by is why Tier2 teachers have not quit in droves. I would be interested to see a chart of teacher membership numbers for last 10 years — I remember reading something a few months ago about teachers quitting at an elevated rate (nation wide).
If you look at the quit rates publish by the USDOL, you’ll see teachers (and govt employees in general) are the least likely to quit their jobs. If teachers are indeed quitting at an elevated rate, so are all the other professions.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.t04.htm
I think those numbers are too broad — the education category probably includes administrators and college, no? Anyway, google “teachers quitting” to find the relevant report from December 2018. Though, I am mostly interested in how Tier2 Illinois teachers are responding — they are the people at the bottom of the scheme paying everyone above them.
Those numbers are indeed broad as they include all school support staff, right down to the bus drivers. But the point is if those quit rates are already low, they’re even lower for teachers. Not sure if there are numbers specific to Tier 2 teachers.