-- 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 problem is all the local taxing bodies determine what we pay for the so called services by using our properties as ATM machines. I don’t see how Springfield can address how contracts are negotiated in local areas. All public contracts are made behind closed doors without allowing access for the media-public/etc to scrutinize the terms before ratification. Then when ratified we know what it will cost us. There is no representation by the state in the negotiations who will pay 30% of the final outcome. They just pay because it is just more taxpayer money not theirs so they… Read more »
It’s not just the property taxes that are driving people out. It’s ALL taxes, coupled with the corruption, the path toward third world status, and officials trying to gaslight us by telling us how great everything is.
Yep. Once again, any PT reductions coming from this will be more than offset by tax and fee increases elsewhere. Despite that, the IL pols will take credit for having the taxpayers’ interests at heart. It’s just another example of what you noted – gaslighting.
The only way to relieve property taxes is to cut spending otherwise your just mixing around the stew.
Since the IL Mismanagement Machine needs way more money than a responsible government body does, it’s likely any revenue loss from significant PT relief will be more than made up by increases in other areas. People like me who lived in IL too long are painfully aware of this likelihood.