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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 area includes Manhattan’s business and financial districts. The daily fee is expected to cost between $10 and $15 with an exemption for residents.” “Exceptions for congestion pricing could also be made for those with lower incomes as well as discounts offered to those taking public transportation.” I said the other day that she was going to tax suburbanites, many of them who loathe the city already will find themselves finding less reasons to travel there. My uncle in a northwest suburb once told me that he visits Mexico more often than he visits downtown Chicago because he hates Chicago… Read more »
The article hinted that there would be exemptions or “discounts” for public transportation, which I presume includes buses, not trains. My guess is that trains are exempt. The railways are a federal entity anyway, and I’m not sure the City can unilaterally impose a tax on where the train goes (the train stations are federal property) along federally/privately owned rails. With that said, I’m sure the landlords and merchants on the “Mag mile” will be thrilled to have traffic reduced by 30%, as these other cities have seen. The democrats have definitely now figured out the idea that taxation affects… Read more »