-- 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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Maybe you could start with talking to the grocery store operators and find out why they pulled out. My guess it will be high taxes, high insurance, union wages and work rules, and crime.
There’s no shortage of gas stations selling processed food, chips and 2 liters of soda. It’s not like these communities are rural Ethiopia during the 80’s where there was little food within hundreds of miles. They’re getting plenty of calories, more than is healthy, as these communities often have massive obesity problems. The ‘problem’ is that individual households do very little cooking. Think about it: Most households with children in these neighborhoods lack a father or man in the house. There are not very may nuclear families. The children get free breakfast AND lunch from CPS during the school year.… Read more »
Hmm, any Wirepoints readers from former communist countries want to chime in and regale us on the joys of shopping in well stocked government stores, low prices, queueing, and cheerful workers. It’s gonna be just like going to your local motor vehicle office on a twice weekly basis.
That community thinks that BJ, who’s never produced anything in his life, is gonna kiss it and make it all better baffles me.²
All options are on the table? Great, how about actually reestablishing law and order so grocery stores don’t get robbed blind and close? All your other options won’t work and will lose big money.
As City Battles Housing Shortage, CHA Lets Hundreds Of Empty Homes Decay – Illinois Answers ProjectThis is essentially how it will go.
Remember during the pandemic, it was constantly being rammed down our throats that all the loudmouth teachers and postal workers were “heros”, and yet not one damn positive word was said about grocery store workers, who were on the job everyday and not moaning to reporters about oppression. Now it turns out that geniuses on the left are admitting they can’t even run a grocery store. Too rich! And to the woman who couldn’t find fresh mint in her neighborhood, just freakin’ move if The Man is holding you down. Just a wild guess on my part, but there’s bigger… Read more »
A mint desert. Who knew? That little anecdote to open the story says a lot about the mindset of the people writing it. Apparently they believe the prospect of a mint desert arouses sympathetic feelings in the reader. This happens a lot with “human interest” stories. The anecdotes chosen just sound ridiculous to the average reader.
Spot on, Prozac. What alternate universe are these writers in?
Moreover, mint is considered an invasive weed because it grows from underground shoots called rhizomes. It is super easy to grow and takes over everything. This lady could have spent .59 cents on mint seeds from menards and grown her own darn mint, or throw down mint seeds in the parkway where it would grow for ever. As an aside, I used to live in an awesome apartment building where several super cool longer term residents guerilla gardened in an abandoned alley. The a portion of the end of alley was unpaved so they dug it up and planted a… Read more »
Excellent observation! NPR always does this, too.