-- 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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Every municipality seems to have a pension problem. Do the cities and towns leaders ask where all the pension contributions are going to like returns on investment of that money or are the pension management fees excessive vs returns compared to other states? Was the money that was allocated to pensions diverted to other political pet projects and an IOU put in its place?
Did any of these local pols ask? Does not look like they did.