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.
Pritzker’s revenue estimate is very overstated since he assumes none of the 20,000 affluent people would relocate out of state because of higher taxes.
Also, “the other 6 million-plus Illinoisans would see their total combined tax burden shrink by about $177 million.” That comes out to about $30 per person; so, it’s not worthy of mention. Finally, those miniscule savings would only last until the next wave of income tax rate increases.
20,000 people with the resources to pop smoke and leave. That’s what his “plan” hinges on. Goodbye, Illinois. I’d say it’s been nice knowin’ ya, but that would be a lie.