-- 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.
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“Humu Issifu’s 5-year-old daughter is interested in taking swimming lessons and dance classes. Issifu says if she had extra money, she’d enroll her in recreational activities. ” So basically, Humu would immediately spend that extra few dollars on dance classes, instead of saving it for a rainy day to get out of poverty, and next year at this time, when Humu is again broke, Humu will again look to the government for a few extra dollars to spend, maybe next time on playstation games or a trip to the wisconsin dells. Lovely. These transfer payments never seem to take anyone… Read more »