-- 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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Complex issue. When students from one district are put into different districts, those local (receiving) taxpayers are then burdened (by law) with certain cost obligations not allowed (by law) to be covered by tuition. Examples of local taxpayer burdens foisted onto local taxpayers by out-of-district transfers: OPEBs. This is a BIG number. Upkeep of school property buildings (capital expenses).Old buildings are expensive to keep “up to code”. Exterior maintenance. OPEBs for exterior maintenance personnel. Pension obligations beyond what State guarantees. LIABILITY! This is a BIG one! Better to form charter schools and let users pay appropriate costs in return for… Read more »