Posted on 10/29/2018 10:35:14 AM PDT by C19fan
As the sun rose, the first frost of the season flashed silver across the mowed fields of Adams County, Illinois, and the same small group of regulars gathered at the Fast Stop gas station in Payson. They get their coffee here most mornings before commencing the day’s business. (One definition of progress: Americans used to worry about getting gas from a coffee shop; now we think nothing of getting coffee from a gas station.) Most of the guys are retired or close to it—firefighters, farmers, machinists. All but a couple of them are Republicans, and when they talk politics, as a visitor from out of town asked them to do one morning not long ago, they speak with an air of weary resignation. Like most people who’ve bothered to pay attention, they’re pretty certain what will happen on November 6, when the state decides who its governor will be for the next four years—the incumbent Republican, Bruce Rauner, or the Democrat challenger, J. B. Pritzker.
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
The democrat controlled cities are taking down the rest of their state?
Yep....primarily Chicago, but Champaign and Peoria aren’t much better, just smaller.
I am in a small town in SE Ill and we’re 60/40 Republican as is the vast majority of the rest of the state.
Step #1 - a predicate for any further action - get rid of all the Madigan’s.
My issue with Rauner and why as of today I do not plan on voting for him on Election Day were the reprehensible lies from him and his campaign about his opponent during the primary. Is Pritzker an absolute puppet of Madigan who will destroy the state even faster? Yes he is. But as of today I cannot see myself filling in the circle for this turd Rauner.
Maybe hastening a crisis will help bring us to the point where reform is unavoidable. Maybe Trump’s outreach to the black community and others will start to break the democrat stranglehold. Maybe despite his diet and exercise routine Madigan will shuffle off this mortal coil. Maybe maybe maybe...
What’s clear is that Bruce Rauner hasn’t been any better than any other liberal Republican who does what his wife tells him do do would have. The smear campaign against his conservative primary challenger was absolultely disgusting, and that’s on him. Pritzker will be worse but voting for Rauner will only be symbolic, and will require holding my nose at that.
IL-EXIT anyone?
The Democrat controlled cities are taking down the entire country. Every state has the same problem.
The Pols lure masses of moochers together into voting blocks/mobs/supporters, promise them the world, deliver pennies on the dollar, and then complain it's "their" fault.
Public school, public transportation, public hospital, public radio, public service jobs, goobermint employees at ALL levels . . . it's all the same shiite.
Public Pension is right up there folks.
For years, YOU voted for all of this largesse, and NOW you're upset?
Its all gone
And you deserve all you get.
sorry, not directed at Leep, just happened to have the right post to reply to.
Left Illinois over 30 yrs ago after graduating college. One of the Best decisions in my life. Still have family there. The small town where I grew up used to have an unwritten rule that if you wanted a job, you had to be a democrat. I was forced to join a union to work at the grocery store. I naively asked, what if I don’t want to join? The manager said I can’t hire you then. I joined but it soured me on unions.
Illinois is toast. The first economic down turn and this state will start missing payments. I hate that Rauner was a republican. He had zero power to do anything. He was elected into office with a veto proof legislature against him.
But the reality is that the Chicago Tribune and other Chicago media owns Illinois problems. They are very happy to repeatedly point out that Chicago and Illinois has huge issues. But they are against every single fix. Its the media’s way of being for a solution while being against every solution. The Tribune loves their relationship with the Chicago swamp. They get free leaks and access. And in return, they never say a bad thing against the government workers. So pay and pensions keep skyrocketing. If you don’t give the city workers the pay they demand it causes potholes. If you don’t give in to a teachers strike, it results in poor test scores. The worst corruption in America is the corruption of the fourth estate by the swamp.
" The state avoids junk ratings, analysts say, only because it retains the power to tax and thus, theoretically, the power to balance its books at a single confiscatory stroke."
That is THE reason that nothing changes. Illinois has-as do all of the states-unlimited taxing authority.
No matter how bad things get, the state has the authority and the ability to right the ship virtually overnight.
It may be painful as well as political suicide to do it, but if for some reason, it becomes necessary, the state can start writing in black ink at the drop of the hat.
Its untrue that they can right the ship. I live in Illinois. I live in the best school district in the state, the richest township in the state. My house is the same price now as in 1998. Everyone of my neighbors has a second house in a second state. They are moving there as soon as the taxes move up. Many have already moved. I have a neighbor who sold their house and is now renting. Many executives are working out of offices in other states so they can pay taxes there.
Yes we have the highest property taxes already. Yes we have the highest sales taxes already. And now they are going to move up the income taxes on the people who can most easily leave the sate. The bond market has it wrong or they are betting that the federal government will bail them out.
Of course we have other states and Puerto Rico who are in a similar mess. Puerto Rico needs a bail out, there is no other way. California does not understand how bad off they are. Yes there are several billionaires out there who do not mind a 11 percent tax. Remember they don’t pay anything until they sell stock. But their staff, those in the high ranks are going to leave. Microsoft, Starbucks and Amazon exist in Washington because they have no income tax.
Once the new federal tax code starts to take a bite out of the high state taxes, people are going to flee. Its going to mean tens of thousands of dollars annually here in my neighborhood. Maybe even $100,000 to those more well healed.
Then how is Illinois going to tax there way to $200 billion dollars. Thats what it is when you add in everything from the city on up. Remember they can tax more but when the economy falters, the tax revenue will fall. Detroit here we come.
What I was driving at is that Illinois, if it was so inclined could simply set a new income tax of 60%, or 75%, or whatever they wanted. There would surely be he11 to pay but that action is entirely within the purview of the GA.
I agree that IL is looking for a handout, but I think that that will be a real tough sell since so many other states are in the same boat and just waiting for the feds to bail the first one out.
Main point is that Illinois is going to have to grow up and take care of itself.
There isn't going to be bankruptcy relief.
I can tell you if Illinois set a income tax, even to 11 percent for high income,there would be no high income. They would make less money right away. Almost any of the top 10% can be somewhere else or change their income status or state without too much hardship. I too have a home in Wisconsin. I already buy much of my stuff there. Any big ticket item, even cars. My wife has a Wisconsin drivers license I have Illinois. The only thing they can get us with is property taxes.
Illinois needs to start raising income tax on government pensions including those who don’t live here. Because the money was made here. They should be able to tax it even if they live in Florida. If they set a minimum of $40K it would not touch Social Security. That would not solve the problem but it would make a large dent, that would affect those who caused the issue in the first place.
Reynolds v. Sims 1964
“But as of today I cannot see myself filling in the circle for this turd Rauner.”
Neither can I. I’m going to vote the Conservative guy.
Screw the Combine.
L
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