-- 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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According to Angelo Codevilla, while self-identified democrats say the democrat party reflects their values, most self-identified republicans (and independents) say the republican party DOES NOT. The republicans in IL are just Democrat-Lite, so the author’s claim that the pension clause was “bipartisan” is far less meaningful than meets the eye. The orgy of love for bonds can’t last forever. The moment bonds enter a bear market, the rush for the exits should rapidly turn into a stampede and the result will be BONDFIRE. Since money is debt, monetary wealth is nothing but IOU’s. There exist perhaps a quadrillion dollars of… Read more »
When IL defaults on the promises of future cash flows (pensions) to retirees, that is synonymous with defaulting on debt.
Bet me that when that occurs (and it will), defaulting on debt will be a national pastime.