-- 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 Heartland Institute estimates one-third of Illinois families currently face calls from debt collectors seeking payment for old bills. ” I deal with this stuff fairly regularly as part of my job. Like most problems, it’s multi-faceted. I’ll give Heartland Institute the benefit of the doubt and accept that 1/3rd of Illinois has a debt collector seeking payment for bills. I disagree that they are ‘old’ bills. Bills are bills and money owed is money owed, no matter how ‘old’ it is. That being said, Illinois is an expensive state. It costs more to live in Illinois, and especially in… Read more »