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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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Ken Griffen had the right idea.
The pension system is an Illegal Ponzi Scheme.
Largest generational theft in history.
Many of the young will leave the state instead of paying a debt they had nothing to do with.
This is destined to fail.
Springfield needs more revenue to keep those huge pension checks flowing. Do you think those marina slips in Boca pay for themselves? A 10% tax on services would make a dent, albeit a small one, in the pension deficit. Would it kill men to cough up an extra two bucks on their haircut? Ladies an extra ten to the beauty parlor? How about an extra fifty to their car mechanic or dentist? Everyone needs to step-up, right PPF?
Yessir. More tax revenue is needed. Taxing services is a great start. Also need to move individual income tax up by 0.5 points and corporate taxes need to increase 0.7 points.
Granite City is a great description of the pension issue. Briggs, who left the District for a sting as the regional superintendent of schools then came back as superintendent of the district. Briggs pension pulls in about 173,000 while only contributing 247,000 to the fund and by coming back after retiring he double dipped for a nice salary. Yes Granite City does not have to look far to see the financial problems and incidentally besides the high salaries there student performance isn’t too good. Just another Illinois story redo.
Government lackies should retire ASAP go move to Punta Gorda, Fl. and enjoy the luxury life as it is going to end sooner than you think. PPF does not have a clue, you can not get money from poor people.
Illinois brings in more than $50 billion per year in revenue. More than enough for pensions. You can’t get money from poor people but you can from one of the largest states in the great nation of the USA. God bless America.
It does not bring in $50B a year because that includes a substantial amount of federal pandemic aid and medicaid subsidies.
July 2022“State tax revenues grew by $5.5 billion in the fiscal year that concluded on June 30, exceeding $50 billion for the first time in Illinois’ history, according to a new report from a state budgeting agency.”“All told, the FY 2022 base revenues reached $50.3 billion without including direct federal aid. The number jumps to $51.1 billion when including a $736 million direct transfer-in of COVID-19 relief dollars.” Only $736 million is direct transfer covid money. Still over $50 billion. Sure some of that $50 billion does include non-covid federal money but that isn’t drying up anytime soon. The most recent 5… Read more »
I don’t know how that is possible when the “IDHFS administers the state’s Medicaid program which would be funded at $37.2 billion this year by Pritzker’s proposal.” I know that in normal times the federal government matches the state’s medicaid spending dollar for dollar. I don’t know if that’s included in the budget or not. Regardless, I’ve showed you in other posts that other states have larger state revenue increases in IL which is a result of more federal monies, booming economies, and inflation. Illinois’ revenue increases are paltry on a % basis compared to other states, including our neighbor… Read more »
“I don’t know if that’s included in the budget or not.” There is your problem. You don’t know but spout off things anyway. FY 23 Budget Estimates Individual and corp income taxes, sales taxes, utility taxes, other etc.. equals $42 billion. Lottery, cannabis, gaming, etc… brings it to over $45 billion. “Regardless, I’ve showed you in other posts that other states have larger state revenue increases in IL” Again trying to move the goal post of the discussion. I never claimed Illinois is growing as fast as other states. I merely pointed out that it is not broke and there… Read more »
So you don’t know either. Is the $37.2 billion used to pay Medicaid part of the $45 Billion in revenue? If it’s not, then whoa, we got problems, it’s either pensions or medicaid, and not much else!
How would I know about a number you referenced that isn’t part of the annual budget? You provide a number with no source when the actual budget shows nothing close to that. If Illinois was really spending $37 billion of its own money on medicaid then we should stop complaining about pensions and start directing our efforts at medicaid reform.
How about you go learn about the actual budget instead of just complaining.
The Overly generous pensions are unsustainable. Illinois is DOA. Raise taxes and get less revenue as more and more people leave the state. Once gone you get nothing for many years to come. The younger generation are leaving ASAP, the wealthier residents are leaving. The only ones left are overpaid government Lackies and the poor.
That’s not happening. The more the state raises taxes the more they receive. We could double taxes and lose 10% of the population and still come out ahead. Plenty more taxes to be raised.
I’m not sure I agree with this. The communist does not create new revenue sources, they only destroy existing ones. Heck, Cook County is destroying downtown a major source of sales tax and real estate tax.
For example, Griffin alone paid $200,000,000 a year in state tax now gone. Everyone knows the real money is in the higher earners. The middle class in this state is tapped and vast lower classes barely pay any tax now. The state’s finances won’t collapse overnight but it will be downward spiral of increasing crime, decreasing public services, crumbling infrastructure.
Spot on Debtsor. I can verify your diagnosis being originally from Detroit. Chicago is well on the way to being a ward of Illinois instead of the economic engine of Illinois.
You knocked that out of the park with downvotes but while the post isn’t a happy one I do believe its truthfulness. I will rely upon my past statements that Illinois can very well end up possessing all real estate to pay the Constitutionally protected pensions. Try to explain that to my college educated neighbors and one simply gets labeled a crackpot. To think, many of these same people vote…Lord help us
yes, that is the ultimate endgame with unchecked Democrat power implementing their Scorched Earth Death Spiral. People leave and the state owns all the land. Really feel bad for the farmers.
He’s right. Too much money is going to other things besides pension funding. The state continues to borrow too much money each year from these pension funds by not paying the actuarial required amount. Until Illinois gets serious, the problem will only get more expensive. Time for truly balanced budgets.
And yet you cheered the nearly $1 billion additional funding to education. Can’t have it both ways PPF. We both know that for years funds not paid to pensions were diverted to other teacher union priorities. But why worry? Plenty more money in that taxpayer piggy bank, right? It goes in teachers’ pockets no matter what.
You haven’t been reading my comments then. I have been saying more money needs to go to pensions and less to spending on new initiatives. I may have pointed out that the state can raise taxes to do more initiatives but it’s not something I support.
I do read your comments. You specifically pointed to the billion dollar increase in education funding as a good thing, and that it was an indication of more taxes to be had. The only thing missing was cheerleader pompoms.
Could you direct me to that comment? I remember making a comment to somebody saying how could they spend more money when the state is broke and I said more taxes could be raised. The common statement from many on here is that the state is broke. That’s just not true. The state has massive powers to get more revenue. Don’t remember saying that was a good thing for more spending. Let me be clear so there is no confusion. The state should cut any spending where possible, raise taxes to pay more into pension funds and not start any… Read more »
Then we do agree on something. No new spending initiatives, no increased spending. No matter how much the teacher unions demand it. But the teacher union always finds ways to get their funding increased, so I won’t be expecting this austerity any time soon.
Hard not to spend more with Bideninflation. The cost of running the government at the level we have now costs 14% more. The B(L)S’s fake CPI inflation says prices are up 14% since the day Biden took office until today. But we know that is fake because nothing in daily life, possibly other high end PC graphics cards, is less than 14% more expensive than two years ago.