-- 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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I can’t say about other areas but in my downstate area selling water services is the trendy thing to do to raise money for the underfunded pensions. Additionally the exiting infrastructure is apparently undermaintained in true Illinois style with funds being devoted to the usual hiring practices and accompanying unionized wage issues. It is such a simple matter to sell to get money and let the costs resulting from lack of maintenance fall on the private companies rather than the elected officials that let it happen. Just another day in the life of Illinois as it circles the drain.