-- 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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Shopping out of neighborhood. I guess I’ll get my groceries with my New Glarus products!
It’s the Illinois tradition: taxes never disappear—they simply evolve. Like a master illusionist, they shift forms, seamlessly migrating from one taxing authority to another, ensuring the burden stays fresh and ever-present.
Pensions costs are rising higher and higher. This money will be made up for by the taxpayers anyway local government can get it. So, expect higher and higher taxes and more things being taxed. The need for money is growing exponentially.
And the governor can brag that he eliminated the grocery tax so the tax increases are on the local level.