-- 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 that when employees are paid $16.25 an hour, and food costs are so high, eating out becomes too expensive for the average family, and these restaurants go out of business. I read once that the CEO of a major sit down dining chain said that many of its customers live paycheck to paycheck, and they put a little bit of money away to celebrate a life event, or, if there is money left over at the end of the paycheck cycle, they visit a chain restaurant to spend money on an affordable but quality meal. While this… Read more »
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