-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Eric Zorn: "The principle of equal treatment says that income is income, whether you’re young or old, whether you’re working for it or reaping it after the end of your career. And the devious effort to distract us with talk of retirement income takes our eye off the real question: Which system of taxation will best protect those toward the bottom of the income scale as we close our massive budget gap?"
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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I know a lot of retired voters who might have a different take. They’ll make time to vote on this issue.
Mr Zorn completely ignored the public employee unions view on taxing retirement income. Fake argument.