-- 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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Typically, the market would determine if one stayed in a particular job or in a particular industry. By subsidizing retirement for low-reported income musicians, they are acting against market interests. The article fails to mention social security as a source of retirement income, perhaps because the musician’s income is split between cash under the table and reportable income. This program is supporting under the table cash and freeing the industry from paying legitimate payroll taxes. The “gig industry” depends on government and other working people to support their workers. Stop feeding this beast with well-intentioned small programs that reward the… Read more »