-- 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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How can residents reclaim their neighborhoods?
Can they patrol the streets and arrest lawbreakers? Can they ensure that repeat offenders are prosecuted and removed from the streets?
Residents pay taxes for these services; they deserve to receive what they’re paying for. They also need a quality education to break the cycle of poverty. The “Invest in Kids” program was effective for impoverished children—so why didn’t the Mayor, a trained lobbyist, advocate for its renewal? Was it a decision influenced by his benefactors, possibly to avoid criticism from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU)?
Some communities aren’t really all that opposed to crime. They, or family members ( of the close or extended varieties) make coin from it and, when a shooting involves the police that they clamor for yet turn on like snakes when they show up, is a golden opportunity for an non- contested payout. Crime DOES pay. The bodies stacking up like teenagers in a ‘80’s slasher movie are just part of the deal.
Are they going to ride in cars with the gang members and physically stop them from shooting rivals? Otherwise, how are they going to convince them not to shoot?
The same way they convince them not to steal, use drugs, alcohol, carjack, mugging,
Rioting, go to school and learn.
Did I miss anything?