-- 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
There will be a 10% sales tax, a 7% gross receipts tax on the sale of marijuana from cultivators to dispensaries, and a push for UFCW in cultivators. This tells me they won’t be able to compete with the black market. California with about three times the population of Illinois took in $345M in taxes from marijuana which was way under their projections. Pritzker is dreaming if he thinks we’ll get $300M to $700M in taxes.