-- 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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The gas price hike at the beginning of the summer travel season is brutal. But what does Jabba the Hutt care? He’s worth more money than the entire tax hike will bring it.
I suspect the exodus will grow exponentially after this session. We already have an exit plan in place. Just waiting for my wife to finish her degree.
Doubling the gas tax will accelerate the rate of outward migration, but it may not happen right away. So, you may hear about some meaningless statistics that show that, in the next six months or so, the rate of outward migration hasn’t changed.
Doubling the gas tax is an incredibly callous move by the IL legislators, especially considering they could’ve avoided this and much more silliness to come by doing something that should’ve been done many years ago: rein in the high salaries, pensions and health care benefits.