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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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Matt Fabian: “The state has the ability to raises taxes if it needs to. It can design new taxes. It could increase the income tax. It could find ways to extract more money.”
mqyl: “The residents have the ability to relocate to another state.”
The state can “extract” money. Not a great way to run a state to compensate for failed economics. It would be more helpful if woke advisors stopped thinking that way too. Default is on the horizon.
Buy Chicago Bonds at your own risk. The chances of being paid are going down every minute of the day. It is a very risky investment.
Yeah, it seems not a day goes by without reading of another ill-conceived idea to raise revenue. I guess that’s what you get when these decision-makers, as a normal course of action, leave significant spending cuts off the table.