-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
A detailed look at the story we first covered.
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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Damn, this is spreading like wildfire.
Except in our worthless IL press.
I’ve noticed from doing searches on numerous engines, (not just biased Google) that this is one of the few places that will even come out and say that there are problems in Illinois to begin with. Sure, there’s the occasional blog post, but even they’re few and far between.
And the sheer number of people who just go along with whatever the papers are saying is rather frightening. Low information voter doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface in this state.
I’d be interested in your and others’ opinion about why the other press doesn’t do so.
My 2 cents: they’re toeing the same line most media have for generations now. “Journalists” get indoctrinated in college, and nobody taught them critical thinking or objectivity.
The CTU story is being ignored because it’s a story of interest to conservatives. There aren’t many of them left in the Chicago area and the few that remain sure as heck aren’t reading the local press for news. So the story is ignored for more progressive ‘narrative’ stories like the Logan Square resident who, instead of paying off her mortgage in 30 years, chose to borrow against the equity until she could no long afford the monthly payment. As for IL press ignoring fiscal issues, the press in general doesn’t see fiscal responsibility as a core function of government.… Read more »
In 1891, Oscar Wilde observed “In old days men had the rack. Now they have the Press. That is an improvement certainly. But still it is very bad, and wrong, and demoralizing. Somebody — was it Burke? — called journalism the fourth estate. That was true at the time no doubt. But at the present moment it is the only estate. It has eaten up the other three. The Lords Temporal say nothing, the Lords Spiritual have nothing to say, and the House of Commons has nothing to say and says it. We are dominated by Journalism.” The press (newspapers… Read more »
Because it’s an embarrassment to everyone in Chicago and Illinois.
Insanity. I moved out of Chicago when my children reached school age precisely because I didn’t want these nutjobs teaching my kids.