-- 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.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
This is pure fantasy right up there with the Green New Deal. Gas is actually fairly cheap considering that a pipe with heating gas is sent directly to you home. $12 a month, or roughly $130 a year, to upgrade lines is not bankrupting communities. This is ridiculous hyperbole. The reason gas bills get expensive is because Chicago’s old housing stock is poorly insulated. Everyone knows this. Most lower income residents are on the payment plan that flattens out the monthly bills so its the same every month instead of spikes in the winter and tiny bills in the summer.… Read more »