-- 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.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
Twenty years ago, the state contribution to the state employees retirement system (SERS) was around $400 million. The most recent payment was $2.6 billion.
Do they want the state to pay case workers more to attract more applicants or do they want to fund the case workers’ pensions?
They probably want more taxes so that they can do both.
Well in the past they would do the hiring and simply cut the pension fund contribution. Did I not read here the other day about creating a ramp funding situation for education? The ability of Illinoisans to come up with wack-a-mole spending is astonishingly beyond belief.