-- 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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Survey the landscape in your town and see all of the closed mechanic and auto body shops everywhere. They can’t find staff to turn wrenches because the dealerships – arguably the most expensive place to have a car repair – have taken all the talent, in part because of this new law. Hope you like $1,000 brake jobs and $1,500 to install new tires! You earned it Illinois!