-- 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.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
Ralph almost got through an article without pushing for pension re-amortization. Then, in the last sentence, here comes the passive-aggressive request: “…rational repayment plan for the state’s pension”
It’s never a spending problem but always a revenue problem. I seem to have had it backwards my entire life. So I can spend and buy anything my heart desires and not worry about having the income to cover it. It could work when I figure out how taxpayers will be liable but until then I will stay the course and not buy anything I can’t afford. Bummer! Question? How many of our pols have a background in finance/accounting/are CPA’s/have degrees in business finance? Yet they are mostly self elected and are in charge of a $40B budget. You would… Read more »
The politicians do not write the bills – the lobbyists and special interest groups do. The politicians are just the slimy salespeople pushing it to their perspective audiences. They have no idea what they are doing – they just take the money and the power it gives them.
They don’t need a discussion because the issue is baked in the cake…”We want more” is always the norm on tax discussions.