The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

The massive lie about Illinois’ pension indebtedness

It’s $327 billion–more than twice what’s habitually reported

Illinois’ pension debt reached an all-time high of $317 billion as of June 30, 2020, according to credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service – more than double the state’s official estimate….

Illinois’ pension crisis has been rated the worst in the nation, measured by pension debt relative to state gross domestic product, since fiscal year 2014. Pension debt increased 19% from $261 billion at the end of fiscal year 2019.

Official reporting of pension debt by the state of Illinois puts the debt at less than half of Moody’s estimate, $144.4 billion at the end of fiscal year 2020. State estimates use much more optimistic, and less realistic, assumptions about investment returns.

This is so frustrating, because even up to now, the media routinely report $144 billion as the accurate figure. Why, I don’t know, when the Moody’s figure is no secret.

But here’s the rub: It will take a constitutional amendment to get a grip on the pension disaster, but Democrats who are the the government employee unions’ lickspittles, block it. Yet, the same lickspittles are pushing a constitutional amendment that would permanently increase the unions’ powers.

Hail, Illinois.

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