-- 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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Great time for the underwater pension funds to sell Russian assets low after presumably buying high(er). But nothing in political life takes precedence over virtue signaling to the rubes so they will know your heart is in the right place. That gives them a good enough reason for forgiving your bad behavior in office. Who really cares if the teachers and other public employee pension funds lose money? We Illinoisans have been feeding their pension funds heartfelt promises in lieu of cash for years and giving the current retirees really nice pensions as long as the funds hold out. And… Read more »
Chicago (I’m not sure about the state) is disinvesting from fossil fuels. Now, IL wants to disinvest from Russia. Then there is the push to disinvest from Israel. Where does it end? For a state whose pension funds are so far in debt and pension investments are not even close to closing the gap, automatically nixing certain investment opportunities on “moral” grounds might be self defeating. The idea is laudable, but there will always be another issue some politician wants to include.