-- 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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This is a textbook case of government programs run amok.
People with zero personal risk (political appointees feeding at the trough) at stake investing dollars into things that have no business being part of an institutional investment portfolio (SouthShore Bank? Really?).
The private sector is “private” for a reason — the government needs to stay out of it and stop pretending that they can play with the big players.
Stick to the mandate of providing basic services and keeping those costs at sustainable levels. Ironically, these are all things that Illinois government completely fails at.
It amazes me when the “do-gooders” in various govt entities create new programs that involve getting their grimy little fingers involved in financial arrangements, and disrupt the efficient decisions of individuals. The whole idea of govt funded or largely-assisted funding for colleges, just makes zero sense. And then giving loans……..has allowed schools to jack up their “prices”.
This is a concept that could work. In Virginia, where I live, the pre=pay programs are a viable way to pay for in-state colleges, where, in contrast to Illinois, the overall quality of education is high and tuition is low (I have a (ahem) theory that states without public sector unions offer much better values and can control costs far more effectively than states like Illinois). I viewed the plan as a life insurance policy because if anything happened to me, well, the kids would be able to go to UVa, Tech, etc., with tuition already paid for. (One could… Read more »