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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 have heard this argument for years that in many situations has siphoned funds to unqualified contractor’s whose work was so poor it had to be redone. I have seen many contractors start a subsidiary with figurehead minority member doing nothing more than forcing the State to pay extra to cover the the higher costs the contractors know they can get away with because of the figurehead. Regardless of the aforementioned the State should be hiring based upon competitive bidding and not in a manner that encourages abuse for social engineering projects making me ponder…when is enough enough when it… Read more »
That’s a related but different argument.
This article is about getting more minorities into the trades careers, where they would be employees.
Preference to minority contractors is addressing the issue at the employer level, where the employer is minority or female owned.
Just because the employer is minority or female owned doesn’t necessarily mean there is a greater percentage or minorities or females in that company compared to a non minority or female owned company.
The K-12 system in IL as a whole is awful at preparing students for trades careers, and explaining jobs in the trades professions to students and parents.
Instead of racking up student debt, how about a 3 year paid apprenticeship.
If that does not work out, at least no debt was incurred.
Who pays for the training?
The employer, employer – labor joint ventures, or employer associations.
Unions also have training programs, which are funded via a fee in collective bargaining agreements.
There are also community college and private training programs, and the student in most cases pays for that.
Sometimes employers work with community colleges to supplement in-house training programs.
Google “apprenticeship program” Illinois, and the name of the trade.
Electrician, HVAC, plumbers, pipefitter, carpenter, ironworker, heavy equipment, truck driver, CNC, firefighter, police, bricklayer, General laborer, painter, plasterer, cement, roofer, sheet metal worker, etc.
Crafts and trades training was dropped in my areas school district. However they did open up a couple of violin and art sections at the same time.
Somehow I think there are more jobs in the crafts and trades than in the replacement classes but, in my district, parents think their children will be famous musicians or artists. So far that hasn’t happened…but you never know.
In the public education system there are 24 Area Career Centers (ACC) / Area Vocational Centers (AVC) that have trades classes. Since there are 102 counties, that leaves about 78 counties with no ACC or AVC, where trades classes, if any, would be in the local high school. Some of the ACC’s / AVC’s are housed on the local high school campus, and others are a free standing building where the students have to commute. A few issues in getting more students to commute to the ACC / AVC to attend a class or two during the school day is… Read more »
How many minorities are ‘too few’ if, according to the article, “…Apprenticeship programs, which for decades have funneled candidates through training programs set up by contractors and labor unions, aren’t attracting minority candidates….
So, what is the next step? Does equity demand that the government FORCE minorities to work in the trades? I mean, if minorities aren’t voluntarily working the in the trades, can they be compelled to do so? For social equity and justice?
What is the end of all this nonsense?
The next step in one word…reparations