-- 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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Moody’s gives credit upgrade, Moody’s gets business. That’s how municipal finance credit ratings work. Nine years ago when Moody’s ratings on Chicago were harsh, Rahm blacklisted them.
The credit rating agencies have a core conflict of interest, as you indicate. None were on the ball before the GFC in 2008. They help shape a financial illusion. When things go bad that they should foresee, we get the “hoocoodanode.” Same with Big 4 auditors. They are all giving clean opinions on Eurozone banks. A joke.