-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
The United Auto Workers, for example, launched a six-week strike against the country’s top three automakers this fall, in part because labor leaders worried that the industry’s transition to electric vehicles would harm assembly line workers. That put Democratic governors who backed the move to EVs in a tough spot. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan all staked their political fortunes—and millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies—on attracting factories for cleaner vehicles, batteries and other suppliers.
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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Trump visited the Granite City Steel mill to announce that he was imposing the tariffs that the union was pining for. Next thing you know, at election time, the union is pumping for Biden. Pritzker needs not fear as Illinois Democrats, in general, vote for blue no matter who.
Gretchen’s melon is almost as big as JB’s. With all that space you would expect at least average brain power from those two, but sadly you would be disappointed.