-- 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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A small part of the article reads “with generous helpings of COVID emergency money from the federal government” that is a large part of the article; meaning a lot of the funding came from the Covid spending spree. The article is cleverly reticent on the actual amounts but does report that a 28 billion tax increase is needed now to save 35 billion in the future. What choice do you think the Illinois voters will choose; a tax hike now or a bigger tax hike later? My guess is that the tax later will be the choice following the old Proverb… Read more »