-- 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 real problem is not that individuals are receiving these benefits legally. The problem is that the benefit design that alllows excessive early benefits in a defined benefit plan.. And that is controlled by the legislative leaders. Past and current. It is like chastising individuals for legally reducing their taxes by using allowable deductions. It is ultimately the legislature and executive branch that determines what is allowable. The pursuit of self interest is given. Where was the media when the benefits were first put in place? Where was the media when it was clear decades ago the benefits were actuarially… Read more »