-- 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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Finally, someone understands tax rates are determined by how much local government wants to spend (levy). If you look at historical data, even during the housing bust the city/county took in as much as they ever did, because the raised rates to compensate for lower assessed value. “The County Clerk adds the Equalized Assessed Valuation of all real property in the County to the valuation of property assessed directly by the State of Illinois and subtracts total amounts of EAV in Tax Increment Financing Districts to arrive at the base amount (Tax Base) used in calculating the annual tax rates.… Read more »