-- 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
Chicago and by extension Illinois’ greatest mistake over the last 25 years is pretending to be this sophisticated, global, coastal type liberal destination. IL wants to be CA or NY but it’s not, it never will be and all efforts to pretend otherwise have come at the expense of what IL is and that was a great place to do business, raise a family, find gainful employment. IL never needed to be flashy, trendy, ultra liberal in the past, it was a force among states precisely because it didn’t pretend to be something it was not and took care of… Read more »
Spot on Marko. I miss the old Chicago. Think before Obummer & Rham were household names, think Dick Butkus, Michael Jordan & Pippen, Sammy Sosa, Mike Ditka, Harry Carey. I even miss the old style parking meters where you had to insert a coin.
Oops, I forgot Comiskey Park. I grant you it was old in the 1980s but I always enjoyed it there.
My fondest memory was they brought the beer right to your seat. In Detroit at that time I’d miss half an inning taking a leak and waiting in the concession line to get another beer.
I had to “time” relieving myself for when the visiting club was batting when I lived in Detroit.
I also always bought 2 beers at the Tiger Stadium concession stand because it was such a project to buy a beer in those days. On the other hand I still miss Strohs beer.
Oops, I forgot that once upon a time cigarettes were less than a dollar a pack. Illinois didn’t try to fund everything off the backs of smokers. I’ve since quit and there’s no going back. Gee I’ve been around awhile…..
And you smoke in your seat at Comiskey and Tiger Stadium. Yes, you read that right.
The 1990’s Chicago had an extremely high violent crime rate and it wasn’t just concentrated in a few south and west side neighborhoods. The Chicago you remember was the yuppie grit of the lake shore and the artsy grit of wicker park. But venture outside of those areas and you’d be a victim of crime. _______________________ DEADLY TREND IS CITED IN A MURDEROUS YEAR January 4, 1995. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-01-04-9501040088-story.html Drugs. Gangs. Guns. According to Chicago Police Supt. Matt Rodriguez, those were the three main factors behind the 930 murders recorded in the city last year. Speaking to reporters at police headquarters… Read more »
Wait, I thought King Pritzker told me that Illinois is fantastic, and the number one choice of smart, young professionals around the world. Did he lie to me again?
The lakefront is overrated. The beaches and parks are dangerous after dark and are packed full with illegal immigrants and gang bangers during the summer days. I’d much rather live in an inland lake with a pontoon boat and good bass fishing, but that’s just me.
It won’t be long before the population of Illinois consists of public employees, welfare recipients, illegal aliens, the incarcerated, pot heads, and those unable to flee because they are either children or elderly.
A productive privately employeed taxpaying individual will become as rare as a dodo bird.