-- 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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In other words, pay $10,000 more in state income taxes so Fritz can bill you $3,000 less in property taxes. No trade.
Call me crazy, but he seems to be hinting towards expanding his tax outside of Cook County through some vague digital asset formula. Like if you’re a remote worker somewhere in DuPage County, or Wisconsin, and you email or use Zoom to talk to your boss in a company with an office in Cook County, the employee is going to get a tax bill in Cook County because the email you sent is a ‘digital asset’ generating income but no taxes in Cook County. Maybe I’m missing something, but this is pure insanity.