Illinois Pols Blow Up Their State

Hard to believe, but if you paid $2,000 in state income taxes in Illinois last year, you’ll pay nearly $3,400 this year, thanks to the politicians who passed a “temporary” 66 percent hike. Ouch. Boom.

While much is being made of the fact that other states have higher individual and corporate tax rates, the simple fact is that mismanagement, overspending and lousy oversight led to the increase. Politicians, always good at spending and always bad at managing, found themselves in a lose-lose situation (one they put themselves in, of course) of having to cut virtually every state program to the bone or jack up the people that are paying for those programs. So, pay more taxes, folks.

Politicians voted to raise the personal income tax rate from 3 percent to 5 percent and the corporate tax rate from 4.8 percent to 7 percent. Both rates were adjusted to carry through until 2015, when they would drop to 3.25 percent and 5.25 percent, respectively.

Sure . . . ever meet a “temporary” tax increase before? Me neither.

Clearly a tax increase was needed, but also as clear is the fact that the Illinois legislature had failed to address its financial quagmire before it became a financial disaster. Stop me if you’ve heard this before: underfunded pensions, growing deficits, delayed bill payments. Ok, let’s say a $13 billion deficit, some $8 billion in unpaid bills and around $78 billion in underfunded pension liabilities. Of course when all that starts hitting the fan, bond ratings fall and the state has to pay more to borrow money and pay more to service the debt they already have.

Despite the fact that states around the country are reporting higher tax collections recently (Illinois’ revenue has increased from $57 billion to $68 billion during the first six months of the fiscal year), apparently there was no choice but to blow the state up. I’m guessing there were plenty of other choices, despite cuts and layoffs already made.

What will be interesting to watch is the impact on jobs and businesses in the state . . . Some are predicting the tax increases could cost the state more than 250,000 jobs over the next few years. Part of the problem is that what business will extend itself to make new hires if there isn’t a predictable tax pattern from the state?

Government, no matter the size, local, state or federal, needs to learn to run lean. Save money when it’s pouring in so when the bad times come, they don’t have to gut people when times are tough. Unemployed people can’t pay higher taxes, and businesses can’t hire people when the economy tanks. We need long-term predicable policies.

With an unemployment rate of 9.4 percent, it hardly seems the state is interested in attracting new businesses or encouraging the ones they already have. Too bad, I heard a story once about things rising out of the ashes . . . I’m thinking Illinois has just blown up the Phoenix.

Three Shut Ups and One WTF

I try to be nice . . . really I do, but sometimes things just tick me off. And when they come in bunches, it kind of makes my head explode a bit. Ok, so, since I live alone, I’ve been know to vent at my computer screen, but that’s ok, since there’s nobody here to hear me. Well, except that occasional squirrel in the wall. So, bear with me a sec and let me just issue three quick “shut ups” (trust me, I had a bunch more) and one wtf.

Shut up: Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen. Generally, evoking Nazis during political speeches doesn’t work well unless you’re giving an actual history lesson. So by comparing Republican criticism of the new health care plan to Joseph Goebbels’ Nazi propaganda  strategy  . . . "They say it is a government takeover of health care, a big lie, just like Goebbels. You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, and eventually, people believe it."

Shut up.

Shut up: Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. If you’re not black, it probably isn’t a good idea to tell someone, particularly the President, that his position on an issue is “surprising” because of his race. Santorum (who has also fallen into the Nazi trap by comparing Democraic filibusters to Adolf Hitler) disagrees with Obama’s pro-choice position. No problem there, but “ . . .  I find it almost remarkable for a black man to say, 'No, we're going to decide who are people and who are not people.'"

That doesn’t work. Disagreeing is always fun, especially on divisive issues like abortion. But to be surprised he isn’t pro-life because he’s black? Nope.

Shut up

Shut up: Rev. Franklin Graham. There are six people dead, including a 9-year-old girl. A congresswoman is lying in a Houston Hospital critically injured from a bullet tearing through her brain, and you’re all pissed off because the Tucson memorial service wasn’t Christian enough? Shut up.

I hate this argument: You aren’t Christian enough, black enough, whatever enough. It’s simply a way of saying, “You aren’t Christian enough for me. And, thus, you can’t come to my Christian party.” Wasn’t the time or event to spew your concern that we don’t have enough Jesus in our lives. Fair enough, but besides trying to assert yourself as the Jesus Police (I believe this so I am a better person than you), you managed to piss off even those you might well agree with you.

It’s a big tent, and I don’t want in to your darn tent anyway. You aren’t better than I am, so please stop acting like you are. Your ignorance showed when you called a Yaqui Indian from the “Yuppie tribe or something. I didn’t quite get it.” Sometimes it’s best not to say a thing. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Shut up.

And finally, my WTF.

Robert Burton, a big fan of University of Connecticut football, wants $3 million of his donations back because he feels he wasn’t adequately consulted prior to the hiring of a new football coach, Huh?

"I know more football coaches than the majority of Athletic Directors in America. … I am fully qualified to assess coaches and their ability to match up with the university's needs," Burton wrote. He also threatened to pull his ad dollars out of the football program, cancel his suite at the football stadium and pull the money he contributes to the summer football program. Could this guy get any more pissy?

Sheesh get out a big pin to pop this guy’s head. Take his name off the new football training facility as he’s demanded, keep his money . . . it was a donation after all. And cut this booster loose. Boosters are a big problem in college sports and this guy’s a perfect example. As was said on PTI, $3 million doesn’t even buy a parking space at Nebraska.

Get over yourself. Nobody thinks you are as important as you do.