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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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I hope and pray this is what happens to all the police, firemen, schcol teachers, judges, municipal workers, city councils, librarians and any other member of the public sector. They should get what they deserve: nothing.
Exactly – an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. Not a lifetime of pension benefits.
“These folks were relying on this money for their retirements. For some of them, it was all of the money that they were expecting for their retirement, and they were promised it over and over.”
And that’s why you don’t rely on other people or systems who promise to pay you back many years later. Save and manage your own damn money. Now I just hope other Illinois retirees get to learn the same lesson soon.
ERISA also exempted “church plans” from fiduciary responsibility and disclosure standards. I expect that would leave the sponsoring organization (often the diocese) open to common law fraud and/or contract claims. Many dioceses are already insolvent due to abuse claims and if the pensions are determined to be enforceable contracts (rather than best-efforts gratuities) I would expect more bankruptcy filings. Similar to the Teamsters, the available revenue stream that would satisfy claims lacks any sort of enforcement mechanism. Tax law changes have discouraged charitable giving and many charitably minded individuals will face the same dilemma that municipalities face: maintain operations or… Read more »