-- 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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City workers are an afterthought? I see, they are victims and we should all shed tears for their plight. That angle isn’t working too well for federal workers; maybe it will play better here. Unfortunately the supposed victims have spent too many years screaming Just Pay Me. Doesn’t lead to an outpouring of sympathy.
Dear Chicago Tribune, where was your outrage as the unfunded liabilities increased to 50%, 60%, even 75%? Your sudden concern for the pension fund members is, as they say, a day late and a dollar short.