-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Legislation is advancing in Springfield that would increase payments to eligible residents participating in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, welfare program. The Illinois House passed House Bill 4423, brought by state Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago. The measure would increase benefits from 30% of the federal poverty guidelines for each family size to 50%.
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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20% increase? Where did 20% come from? Inflation isn’t that high, what is the justification for the huge increase?
Also, and here’s the big one: where is the money coming from?
Dumb question, eh? It’s coming from OUR pockets!