-- 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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The Chicago-area retired teachers that I know who retired in their 50s are enjoying lavish retirements due to huge pensions and free health care.
I would like to ask teachers if they are willing to shift their pension contribution that they (taxpayers) have made so far into a 401K in exchange for a higher salary now. How many would take that offer. If I were a mathematician it would wager close to zero.