Posted on 03/28/2018 6:41:01 AM PDT by simpson96
Maybe you think the worst is over for Chicago Public Schools: Springfield sprang for millions in budget and pension relief last year. Time to lean back and sip an icy beverage.
Sorry to interrupt this reverie, but there are 1 billion reasons that you’re wrong. That is, the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund is short another $1 billion, according to the fund’s consultants.(snip)
Why is this happening? Because of new estimates that reduce expected investment returns over the next decades by a half-percentage point, from 7.75 percent annually to 7.25 percent. Even a relatively small tweak creates a big hole. Hence, the fund is now estimated to be $11 billion in the red, up from $10 billion.
Over the years, CPS officials and City Hall have taken a two-step approach to the district’s money problems. Step 1: Hold out hand to lawmakers in Springfield. Step 2: Stick other hand into the pockets of Chicago taxpayers.
So we aren’t surprised at the response of CPS CEO Janice Jackson to questions about how the district will cope with the threat of escalating pension costs: “I think the biggest plan is to continue to lobby for additional funding to support our schools.” That is, cue the first hand.
This is a familiar story in Illin-owe. Other distressed Chicago and Illinois public pension funds struggle with the prospect of insolvency—an inability to pay benefits as they come due. The state's unfunded pension liability is crowding out other priorities. Taxpayers can’t keep up. Some take the easy way out: They move. The exodus of residents from Chicago and Illinois continues briskly to other states with lower taxes.
We can’t prove that fear of an even higher tax burden will chase more Illinoisans out of state. But we do know that such dread is well-founded. Citizens who
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
The voters keep voting these dopes into office. They seem to think that there is a big pot of money out there to pay for the pensions and everything else. So they are OK with politicians who promise the world to favored groups like teachers. Somehow, the voters don’t get the fact that they will end up holding the bag. The “rich” aren’t going to be able to cover the tab no matter how high the politicians raise tax rates.
The state of ILL n annoyed.
Yep. I always blame the voters. It’s why I moved from Seattle to central Kentucky. My vote didn’t matter in Seattle. My vote doesn’t matter here either, but for exactly the opposite reason. :)
They just believe that good intentions always trump disastrous results.
Paying huge populations of people not to work will never end well.
And voters with brains and means are voting with their feet.
Someone like to paint pretty pictures...and it's not the teachers.
7.25% is moonshine too
My Socialist brother and I have had this argument. In California, prison guards can retire with full pension, after 25 years. He said that was good, because they were in a dangerous job. I pointed out to him, that a prison guard can retire at 50 and draw full pension. His replacement can also retire at 50. So, if the first guard is still living at 75, that would mean they are paying three times the budget, for one prison guard position. I couldn’t convince him that no state could afford that. Their virtue-signaling ‘altruism’ clouds any rational judgement they might have.
“Liberals never seem to think their actions will have consequences.”
For the most part there are no consequences - to them. It’s the rest of us who pay with higher taxes, higher crime rates, fewer rights protected, and fewer places to run to.
they don’t that is why they get by with it, no law, no country, fake bs from mankind..same story..got Jesus?
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