-- 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
This is pretty stupid. Who would want to pay their taxes early or pay 105% early. You would have to be pretty bad at managing money to want to do this.
Now if the reason the county needs a better cash flow from property taxes (and we know it is), Why not let monthly payments with no fees or penalties be paid?
Paul, not really. If you currently itemize and you are in, say, a 30% federal tax bracket, you effectively get a 30% reduction off your property taxes. If you pay next year you won’t be able to do that — for most homeowners, depending on particular circumstances. And I don’t think that 105% is an additional payment of 5%, just a limitation on how much you can pay early.