My take in today's WSJ on the role that pension and retiree health care liabilities in states and cities are going to play in location decisions that businesses and even residents make, because people are going to be increasingly wary of buying into these huge liabilities as they see taxes increasing because of them. Below is a chart from the Civic Federation of Chicago showing that state's growing pension costs on the budget. Those costs, as I point out, are eating up much of the $7 billion tax increase that Illinois enacted last year on residents and businesses, sparking a revolt among firms.
Join the conversation