-- 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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Regarding asset sales, the devil is in the details. If they sell off state assets for cash and then give the pension funds that cash to invest, then I as a pension beneficiary have no objection, because then the valuations cannot be fudged and the money transferred should earn the same returns going forward as other assets the pension funds already have. However, if they transfer assets directly to the pension funds, likely at arbitrary and inflated valuations, and then use that as justification for cutting required contributions going forward, then I strongly object.
yes they can sell them for cash to put into the pensions just like they used the lottery monies to boost education funding.
Will the taxpayers see a reduction in property or other taxes if the Pritzker ramp is implemented? The Edgar ramp just kicked the can down the road but my taxes more than doubled nonetheless so we as taxpayers still pay outrageous taxes but that tax money will probably be appropriated to something else like balancing the budget or some political pet project. Taxpayers will not ever see a pension tax holiday!
If my memory serves me right Illinois used to have a personal property tax that the income tax was going to replace. The income tax was passed but the personal property tax was not immediately taken away as it was supposed to do. I forget all of the details but in Illinois tax increases seem to go to new spending projects rather than what they were supposed to do.
Incidentally I wanted to up vote the prior post but could not because I wasn’t logged in it said. Is this a membership site now?