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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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The ‘Peter Principle’ dictates that those in IL government are not the ‘cream of the crop.’ Those that exist there now are great in their egos only. The ‘smart ones’ may have existed a generation or 2 ago, but they have been gone for awhile, and have already gotten paid. The current generation may be viewed as the ‘bag holders’ for what comes next. The math cannot be overcome, the debt load and pensions are unsustainable for anyone expecting payment consistency now, or into the future. IL has no army to confiscate private property outright to maintain this debt-load. If… Read more »
To put it in terms even an Illinois public school teacher can understand: (We must speak to you like the tearful mother of a kidnapped child would speak to cameras in a news conference:) “You have all the power.You have the power to give our children (insert name of children here to humanize them to kidnapper) the merciful gift of a decent life. We know you are in pain and have a righteous indignation. We want for you to have a calm life, an equitable life, wherein you are not feeling forced to lash out and destroy your community for… Read more »
New tactic here, Susan? Apparently somewhere you’ve been reminded that sweet honey is more attractive to vermin than vile vinegar, the latter being the technique you’ve used repeatedly until now. Good luck with your new tactic, and if history is any clue you’re likely to be more successful with that approach.
The funniest part about this, James, is that it doesn’t end well for anyone. “Contracts” LOL – take everyone down with that boomer greed and selfishness.
It IS boomer greed.
James – Susan’s piece hit home with me. In my day in Lake County, Orwell’s Animal Farm was required reading for 9th grade English. Can you imagine this today? Susan’s piece reminded me that in the Illinois political machine, some pigs are indeed more equal than others. You can quibble over tactics, but the numbers and debt in Illinois are so awful it has become a place to escape from.
Yes, maybe if we ask nicely enough they will stop extorting us and holding our children hostage. Pretty please with sugar on top??
It wouldn’t hurt to try some new approach. What I see here nearly always are the bullying and name calling more common to usage by children. All that does for kids and even here is to further the “great divide” between the two camps where both sides dig in for more of the same or worse rather than working through the problem to their mutual benefit. Time to grow up? Or, is it time to go nuclear? People here prefer the clubbing into submission approach by a long shot. Your response is a humorous version of it.
James – it is not about the narrative, it is about the numbers. Horribly bad facts simply don’t lead to easy discussions. I don’t like ad hominem attacks either but comments on style are a flyspeck relative to the daunting and overwhelming nature of the financial problem, and the very real exodus from the state. I see on this site today where Mattoon, a nice town in the 70’s and 80’s, has 100 percent of its budget taken up with pensions. Of course other cities like Peoria are even worse. How can they survive going forward? No name calling here,… Read more »
As I said a day or two ago a small solution can easily start with the state opening up discussions with willing public employee pensioners who see the need to help in the problem of reducing pension costs going forward. There may be deals to be made on an individual level between the state and individual pensioners both willing to compromise toward that goal. The difficulty is one of trying to manage and continually monitor such individual contracts potentially numbering in the tens of thousands eventually rather as compared to the much easier task at present of managing five public… Read more »
“Willing public employee pensioners”. Ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha. ! !
No one should expect really big numbers of pensioners willing to do this, but it ought to be an arrow in the quiver. Some few surely will care enough to be patriotic in a real sense as a long-term IL citizen. Then, there are those who—believe it or not—simply don’t have a never-ending lust for more money, placing their highest priorities elsewhere. If this idea were to be offered it would start small for sure but could grow for the reasons I’ve stated with surely the vast majority of IL public employee pensioners agreeing with the general public that the… Read more »
I hear ya. It’s not gonna happen.
It seems to me that anyone who will not hear of any reform to pensions, based on “but you promised” is: a) the childish one and b) choosing the nuclear option for our state. That seems to include the public sector unions and their political allies.
Sure, I agree. That’s not a sensible point of view, is it? A suitable compromise needs to be reached before Armageddon destroys one side or the other totally. Each side needs to listen to the other and seek a sensible, agreeable mid-point.
I just don’t see anyone taking an approach of “yeah go ahead and take part of my pension I’m a team player for the greater good”. Now maybe they would say, “if you hit me then it needs to be fair across the board”. Of course in a progressive State like IL they should apply the “fair” reductions based on income. Like the person who get $500k in pension benefits should take a 10% haircut versus the $30k pension takes a 2% cut…only fair right?
As far as I know the state has made non”let’s talk” overtures to retirees as a group or to them individually. I am advocating the latter since these are contracts made to individuals even though they are managed as a group. Some pensioners might be willing to reduce their pension outright, stabilize it, or at least reduce its growth IF the state …………., a request each side should ponder and discuss. What is acceptable in the way of reaching an agreement should have a goal of a likely reduction in the pensioner’s expected total payout, of course. Some pensioners may… Read more »