Super Chocolatey DOOOOOM: Illinois finance and pension links 24Jan2011

24Jan/112

Super Chocolatey DOOOOOM: Illinois finance and pension links 24Jan2011

Looks like both Chicago and New York lost. Boo hoo.

Time to get back to the real stuff. Some of these links will be repeats from prior posts... just because.

Let's start out with proof that the businesses in Illinois aren't totally stupid. So Springfield increased business taxes. Many Illinois businesses decide it's time to call U-Haul. Mmmm, where are those taxes going to come from? More on how politicians do not consider the exit possibilities.
Ah, Chicago Labor leaders. They're always so well-behaved. Double-dipping? Pish tosh. I'm sure it's all above board.
Evanston gets a reprieve on funding their pension - helps in the short run, but if I were an Evanston employee or current retiree, I'd be wary.
James Pethokoukis on the kleptocracy that is Illinois. Gee, I'm sure Illinois politics has nothing to do with federal politics, right?
All that tax-raising doesn't fix things, of course. Just more of the same old, same old. More from the NYT on the same subject.
Some warnings from the "progressive" side: yeah, Rahm wasn't kidding about pension cuts. Look at the numbers. And look at these numbers. I guess that's why Rahm thought he could get away with it. I don't think the union endorsements will get any of his opponents to threshhold.
A little too late, perhaps: constitutional amendments to keep a cap on spending. And more on the same story.
When a state has to explicitly stipulate that it will pay its bills.... makes me want to check if I'm getting paid in IOUs again.
Novel idea to cap the spending: putting Illinois pols into debtors prison. Hey, we've not tried that yet. Soft landings seem more common.
Think 2 pensions not enough? How about 4? 5?
Pension plan fine? That's news.
Want to see how the most bankrupt Illinois pension plan has evolved? Just check out page 3 of this pdf. This is the one claimed to be in a death spiral, as it's selling off assets. Some more on the TRS history. Keep an eye on TRS - I think it will be the first big bust. More from Bill Zettler at Champion News on this.
Illinois paying for past sins? Well, gotta be paid sometime
Illinois retirees - expect to pay more for healthcare. Hope! Change!

Meep

Meep is a member of the Irish Catholic mafia, having a suspiciously high number of green-eyed, red-haired friends. While she doesn’t have red hair herself [except when she goes into the sun (rare for any vampire)], she does have green eyes. She’s a raving Papist and is a life actuary on the side [i.e., she counts dead people]. An amateur pain-in-the-ass [willing to go pro!], she likes covering retirement, mortality, math, and education issues.