-- 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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Per attorney Gabriel Malor:
Actually, this goes even further than my first reading. The decision forecloses ANY payments to unions, not just agency fees, without clear, affirmative consent of the employee.
Any payment at all.
Yeah, but we’re talking Illinois here, my friend. I’m sure the union bosses are already working on their “sales pitch” to their captives, er, members.
Public sector union membership in Wisconsin dropped 40% after Walker pushed through these same reforms. I expect the same thing in Illinois. Never underestimate the overriding desire of public sector employees to keep their money.