Where is the outrage over this Income Tax hike? (Chicago: rent, quality of life)

[j_cat]

Originally Posted by JoeVols

It just passed the house and will pass the senate. State income taxes are going up 75% so that public employees' unions can keep their pensions.

Why am I not hearing more outrage from people here in chicago over this? I just moved here from the south and if someone pulled a stunt like this people would go postal. Here people just seem to think it's par for the course.

But when more and more companies continue to shut down and move south, you'll understand why. These social safety nets just can't be sustained. It's criminal what these politicians are doing.

"Where is the outrage?" Um, not here. Welcome to Chicago, and thanks for your unsolicited opinion. As for your economic predictions, I guess we'll see. K thanks bye

[blackst5]

Originally Posted by tonythetuna

Guess what? Get rid of all the illegals and the unemployment problem goes away. There will never be an unemployment problem again.

Last I checked this wasn't about umemployment, but about taxes.

As for illegal immigrants being the cause of the state's financial problems, that's a tough pill to swallow. In fact, it's the children of illegal immigrants, who technically are as much citizens of this country as you and I (born and raised), that are impacting the system. I don't disagree that we need to find a solution to the immigration problem as a whole, but regardless of the solution, these children are in the system for good. They belong here. They're Americans (whether you like that or not).

The biggest problem with the state's budget is to pay for the retirees in the education system and the unions. Unless we can fairly cut down on the state's debt in these areas, we're still stuck. Keeping people out of the education system isn't going to work. We have to deal with the legacy costs that are weighing us down just like the retirement benefits and healthcare costs forced GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy.

The biggest problem with this; however, is what politician wants to put his/her political future on the line by voting for a bill that cuts funding for these huge groups of people? No one. That's a sure-fire way to lose a re-election campaign. Sad, but true.

[Milwaukee City]

In appearances that included WGN radio and the Fox TV affiliate in Chicago, and others planned for later Wednesday, Walker said he mentioned a popular old bumper sticker in a state aid campaign, "Escape to Wisconsin," and suggested that with taxes potentially set to rise in Illinois, companies should consider moving to Wisconsin. Walker said he told Chicago media that Illinois is moving in the wrong direction.


Walker takes shot at Illinois tax increase - JSOnline

[Milwaukee City]

Quinn really thinks this tax hike is no big deal and is actually very smug about it, they are acting like the republican takeover never happened and that all those dems lost their jobs just b/c we don't like them?

"Quinn offered little more than a shrug when asked his reaction to the post-tax hike GOP broadside from across the border aimed at going after Illinois businesses. “Well, lotsa luck to them, but that’s not gonna happen,” Quinn told reporters at a news conference in his Statehouse office."


“Wisconsin is not the mecca where everybody is going to be running off to,” predicted Illinois Manufacturers’ Association President Greg Baise. “The last time I looked, their climate is a lot s------- than ours.”


Wisconsin gov likes Ill. tax hike - Chicago Sun-Times

[nana053]

Originally Posted by tonythetuna

Well I "kinda" don't see how you can support people that overall are a drain on this country's financial resources and are breaking multiple laws. You and the clowns in the legislature as well as the mayor and governor want to reward lawbreakers?

If you think illegals put in more than they take out, you are blind.

Guess what? Get rid of all the illegals and the unemployment problem goes away. There will never be an unemployment problem again.

Where is YOUR outrage over this Income Tax hike?

The immigration issue is simply more complicated than you want it to be. Believe it or not, illegal immigration gives the economy a *small* positive. The problem is that the positives and negatives are badly distributed so that people see only the part of the problem they come into contact with or the part the media focuses on.

Why Americans Think Immigration Hurts the Economy - Newsweek

To get a better understanding of what’s going on, consider the way immigration’s impact is felt. Though its overall effect may be positive, its costs and benefits are distributed unevenly. David Card, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley notes that the ones who profit most directly from immigrants’ low-cost labor are businesses and employers—meatpacking plants in Nebraska, for instance, or agribusinesses in California’s Central Valley. Granted, these producers’ savings probably translate into lower prices at the grocery store, but how many consumers make that mental connection at the checkout counter? As for the drawbacks of illegal immigration, these, too, are concentrated. Native low-skilled workers suffer most from the competition of foreign labor. According to a study by George Borjas, a Harvard economist, immigration reduced the wages of American high-school dropouts by 9 percent between 1980 and 2000. Not surprisingly, surveys show that those without a high-school diploma tend to oppose illegal immigration most fervently.

In a new book, “Brokered Boundaries,” Douglas Massey and Magaly Sánchez cite research showing that such rapid demographic change tends to trigger anti-immigrant sentiment when it gets entangled in inflammatory political rhetoric.

*****************************************
The irony is that for all the overexcited debate, the net effect of immigration is minimal (about a one tenth of 1 percent gain in gross domestic product, according to Hanson). Even for those most acutely affected—say, low-skilled workers, or California residents—the impact isn’t all that dramatic. “The shrill voices have tended to dominate our perceptions,” says Daniel Tichenor, a political science professor at the University of Oregon. “But when all those factors are put together and the economists crunch the numbers, it ends up being a net positive, but a small one.” Too bad most people don’t realize it.

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by blackst5

Last I checked this wasn't about umemployment, but about taxes.

Guess what helps pay for unemployment and illegal immigrant costs? You guessed it (actually you did not.) Taxes.

Originally Posted by blackst5

They belong here.

That is your opinion, not a fact.

Originally Posted by blackst5

the children of illegal immigrants, who technically are as much citizens of this country as you and I

My parents were not illegal. Are yours?

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by j_cat

"Where is the outrage?" Um, not here. Welcome to Chicago, and thanks for your unsolicited opinion. As for your economic predictions, I guess we'll see. K thanks bye

Do you have a job? Do you get any kind of public assistance?

[GettaJetta]

So wait......the cigarette tax didn't pass but the income tax hike did?

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by GettaJetta

So wait......the cigarette tax didn't pass but the income tax hike did?

Cigarette tax revenues are already way down the last 5 years or so since the state,county,and city started taxing them to oblivion. All of the states that border Illinois are making more money in taxes because of Illinois smokers buying cigarettes outside of Illinois. If Illinois raises the price any higher Illinois will lose more money. In Chicago and Cook County, over half the price of a pack of cigarettes is taxes.

[GettaJetta]

Makes sense.

I'm really curious to see what happens. In my eyes these "temporary" tax cuts are permanent. I've been doing research for the past two or so years (I currently live in NYC) and ruled Chicago as the only city in the US giving me what I want.

I'm hoping this isn't too severe in the Chicagoland area. If so, I guess I'm going to have to start from square one with city research.