-- 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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It seems like I spend $100 every time I leave my house, between filling my gas tank, grabbing lunch for my child and spouse, picking up a few groceries for the week, buying landscaping at Home Depot, every time I get in my car to go somewhere it costs me $100. So I just spend a lot of time drinking beer on my deck instead…
I’ll give you something to soothe your nerves on that topic, or at least it helps me with it. Just think of today’s $100 as buying the same amount of goods and services as $10 bought circa 1970-ish. So, essentially I do my best to thing of every bill I get as divided by 10 so I don’t get blood pressure problems thinking about it. If you could afford to pay $10 in 1970 without losing your cool you can likely afford to pay $100 today without having a heart attack over it either. Actually, I’m more likely to look… Read more »