-- 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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We’ll soon see if the aldermen and alderwomen honor their vow of not voting to approve a budget that includes a PT increase.
Look around. DO you see any democrat politicians who care? Didn’t think so.
While it’s true that real estate taxes are higher in Illinois than almost anywhere else, pensions and IRA’s are thus far exempt from Illinois state income tax. Neighboring states of Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kentucky, and to some extent Missouri tax pensions and IRA’s, exempting only Social Security.
Not taxing retirement income is the one thing keeping a huge number of Illinoisans, including many of our public sector hero retirees, from moving out of state.
We hear it is good to be a lifelong learner. If these older Chicagoans have voted for Democrats for most of their adult life, it is good that they learn and experience the consequences of their actions.