-- 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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Talk about stoking class rivalry! Get the peasants on our side to stick it to the wealthy – then we can stick it to the peasants! For the uninitiated: ‘unrealized gains’ are the difference between what you paid for an equity (usually a stock, bond, or mutual fund) and what the market states that equity is worth today. ‘Realized gains’ are what you earned or loss when you actually sell the equity and have that money in your pocket. This proposes to tax money that has never been in your pocket. A new low for government and I expect would… Read more »
Agreed. It will make the public markets much more illiquid, as people move money to darker, more opaque places.
Democrats are truly vapid.
Hold on Pat, perhaps we’ll be able to write off the unrealized loss on Illinois real estate!
The thought brings tears to my eyes as we are getting ready to sell and realize a loss. Gah!
These are all the states that are bleeding population, breeding crime
I can’t wait for the rich to hit these idiots with mountains of unrealized losses thanks to Senile Biden’s bear market
But you know that the Democrats will attempt to rig that game where you cannot get refunds or offset actual cash income.
However, once the tax lobbyists and cronies get in there, then these will de deductible and the whole thing will be pointless, but yet another “loophole” to offset taxes.
The rich invest in businesses that employee people. Government takes taxpayers money and wastes it. Without businesses investment the economy does not work.
We’re getting closer to that point now, aren’t we?
How about common sense spending? How about stopping the great give a way scheme to stroke the egos of special interest groups or curry favor among certain voting blocks? How about having a budget and staying within the amounts of money that there is to spend?
Interestingly, governments at all levels have record revenues. These tax proposals are not solving any existing problem, just adding to the governments’ drain on economic resources in the private sector.
They want more money for social programs, healthcare, and education. In IL, pensions take up more and more of the revenue, so those programs get squeezed. I’m not sure that a wealth tax can keep up with the increasing cost of pensions, especially when the wealthy leave.
They may say their target is the “rich” but there are not enough of them to generate significant tax revenue. They are coming after us.
Hey Greg, you’re catching on…
One might argue that inflation in general causes the price of a stock to go up. One might argue too that the actions of Government causes inflation. So add those two together and the Government causes inflation so the stock price goes up and presto the Government rakes in more taxes; a perfect gig for the free spending politicians.
Absolutely Unconstitutional
Absolutely stupid. How does somebody put a value on illiquid assets?
They’ll start with “liquid assets.” Easily defined gains like one’s stock portfolio, mutual funds, hedge fund balances. Once that’s rolling, it just “won’t be enough,” you know. And, as people move money to more opaque investments (fully legally) they will work on ways to go after those next level things like real estate, by putting the onus on taxpayers and businesses to use assessments and/or pay for appraisals. Then the final steps will be private equity funds, VC and other long-term investment plays where they will use the company’s own valuation and your share of it to determine its value… Read more »
Then they’ll move on to your 57 Chevy and that silver dollar grandpa gave you.