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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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Illinois has already spent what children born in 2040 will never pay off.
That’s what happens when you have debt. Pay your bills.
“Current taxes are not sufficient to pay the growing pension obligations,” this says. Hmm. I think I may have read that somewhere before.
Bondholders probably get disclosure with enough disclaimers that the fraudsters can’t be sued. Or (if sued) they’re either immune or uncollectable. Taxpayers probably lack standing to sue but, even if they could, the fraudsters are immune or uncollectable. A few governors and mayors have gone to jail but generally due to accepting or soliciting bribes. By now the fraudsters are smart enough to build a file of reliance upon actuaries etc. And if prosecutors won’t go after arsonists and murderers what hope is there of finding one who will protect the public from securities fraud or lying to voters —… Read more »