-- 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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But what do you do with a departing county’s pro rata part of its massive state debt obligation?
According to Democrats, these counties are ‘moochers’ and ‘net takers’ from Springfield, so reliving the state’s duty to support these counties should result in a net benefit. In short, it’s like shedding dead weight for them!
We’ve always assumed they would be taking a proportional share of the debt with them, like an evil dowry.
Thanks.