-- 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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How many union slugs does it take in IL to patch a pothole!?
Illinois leads nation in using tax laws to steal:
Illinois Taxes Gas Multiple Times. It Charges Sales Tax On The Base Cost Of Gas Plus The Federal Tax And Environmental Fees. Then It Adds State And Local Excise Taxes — Meaning It Makes Drivers Pay Tax On The Taxes. Most States Don’t Operate That Way
The roads should be paved in gold with that kind of revenue but probably 50% of that money has ended up in some politician’s pocket or doled out to relatives and friends to do nothing.
Yep, and we’ve got the best roads in the country to show for it.