-- 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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This is all part of the Pritzker for President 2024 campaign. Fatboy can claim that he lowered taxes in Illinois and the Pravda media will repeat nationwide.
If the big man were really interested in tax relief for all IL taxpayers statewide, he would reduce the nation’s highest gasoline taxes east of the Rockies.
Illinois has more units of local tax governance, than any other state except Texas, which is as big as IL, WI, MI, OH, and Indiana combined.
Georgia has a similar problem with counties. Whilst at one time having a lot of little governments made sense, when transportation and communication was difficult, it’s just a redundant burden now.
Nebraska has long trying to reduce it’s redundancy but so far only managed to go from a bicameral legislature to a unicameral legislature.
The pols never think of the consequences or costs of any bill presented or laws enacted. That is a problem for down the road. Every community will come up with some tax to compensate and a few will most likely be higher than 1%. When the 3% compounding was being discussed in the Omnibus Pension Bill Sen Shuneman was the only one concerned with what it will cost down the road. He asked millions/billions and did not get a definitive answer. Most of the pols have no background in finance yet are in charge of a $50B budget every year.… Read more »