-- 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 2021, for example, only about one-third of high school juniors taking the SAT met or exceeded state standards in English language arts, and slightly fewer did so in math. And yet, after those same students graduated the following year, nearly two-thirds enrolled in college within 12 months of graduation.=
Al that says is that they are not really ready for college and the colleges have to set up remedial programs.
Instead of gerrymandering the tests that students take, pulling one test and putting in another, why don’t we create ONE test for students across the state and let all public and private schools be compared? As parents in a “great” public school district, comparisons between public and private school test results are elusive. Best practices need to be adopted state-wide for the benefit of the students to see what high achieving schools do well. Better yet, how about state vouchers for school choice like 31 other states currently have and allocate that taxpayer money to schools with deserving teachers and… Read more »