-- 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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Chicago Public Schools has been paying a growing amount toward the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund, a city-run pension program that covers district support staff and other employees. The city was handling those costs until recent years, though it did not fully cover them as it went along. Why would the city pay retirement costs for school employees, even if they’re not teachers? The only way to truly know how much we spend on education is to ensure all education-related costs – including those to maintain the schools’ infrastructure – falls under the school district. This is no different… Read more »
Misdirection through misinformation
Anything CPS is involved with is a can of worms. Cunning Lori pulls back their financing! I don’t understand why Lori would sabotage a good deal for herself. She unloads CPS on some fools. Who’s the mystery victim Lori is stabbing. Somebody looked sideways at her!
How well have USPS and Amtrak done as independent federal entities; not to mention PBGC and FNMA which likely have implicit expectations of continuing bailouts. We already see the initial wave of student loan bailouts unless the Supreme Court steps in. It’s anybody’s guess whether a Republican sweep in ’22 or ’24 can withstand the political pressures that these predictable failures will create. Similar promises elsewhere (e.g., Japan, China, etc.) — places with low birth rates and an aging population — face the same problems. I’d guess that most of the world’s GDP will not be enough to satisfy the… Read more »