-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
"Get out of here with this talk about how paying more for a bloated and corrupt government is a good thing for the economy. If the truth about that false statement weren't so depressing, I'd laugh at its absurdity.
"The truth is that while a special class of workers in Illinois has been insulated from harsh economic realities, the rest of the state hasn't. Between 2005 and 2014, AFSCME worker salaries grew five times faster than Illinois worker earnings and at twice the rate of inflation.
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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