Missed Opportunity
On the local front, the fight over big box stores versus "living wage" costs the city jobs and tax revenue:
Crains Chicago Business reports that Target won't open stores in Morris, Antioch, Arlington Heights, and at 76th and Ashland in Chicago, as previously planned. Wal-Mart has axed stores in Aurora, St. Charles, Crystal Lake, Elgin, East Dundee and Bradley. And Home Depot has called off projects in Minooka and at 119th and Interstate 57 in Chicago.
Analysts say many consumers are financially struggling with the housing market, and that may be the reason these stores don't want to expand.
The housing market "bubble" is over played as the number of ARM's in trouble accounts for something like one-half of one percent of the total mortgages in default. If Chicago hadn't dithered over such intrusive practices as attempting to dictate a wage higher than the Federal minimum, these stores would be in place already and once there, would possibly have experienced cut backs, but most likely wouldn't have closed. As it is, a non issue - except for the massive $200 million tax hike that could have been partially alleviated by a large tax paying corporation opening stores around town.
Labels: we got nothing
posted by SCC at 12:01 AM
24 Comments:
The store front rev's and ghetto alderman still do not realize that the rest of the country is not as politically corrupt as Chicago and do not play by our rules. The responsible politicians should be held liable...but in the ghetto there is never any shame in ANYTHING they do!
Naw daley will just raise the taxes on the people that are struggling to maintain a middle class life style! how about do like ca, and Arizona is doing send all the illegals back, stop giving them our tax money in all the free shit! That would save billions in wasted monies! Sanctuary city let them all camp out on daleys lawn that would show how good daley is!
who cares.
shop macy's.
I dont care if 50 Home Depot's open in Chicago, all that tax revenue will be gone and our property tax will still increase faster then the national average. Prices will stay high too and "Mom and Pop" stores will be killed. Where is our "taxpayers" benefit? Besides I try to shop outside the city to avoid the Daly tax.
The housing mess has a broad effect on consumers.
Many homeowners paid too high a % of income and have less disposeable income as a result.
Others refinanced an otherwise affordable home and took cash out.
We all know someone with an investment property even some w/ neg. cash flow.
Creative mortgages, some not used since before the great depression, gained popularity as the average wage erner could no longer afford the average house.
We are now in an environment of falling home prices, tightend lending standards, government bank bailouts, record foreclosures and a mounting inventory of unsold homes.
Many overleveraged homeowners are underwater and cannot lower their price enough for would be buyers whose income is insufficient to qualify under new lending standards.
The home building, financing, furnishing and other related industries have ground to a slow crawl. business closings and layoff announcements are increasing and do not include the massive illegal labor force.
If it is true, as i have read, that the housing boom was responsible for roughly 50% of job creation in the last 5 years..... we could be in for some tough times.
thank you Jesus, less calls for shop lifters, less work for the beat, the lock up and the dicks. Just look at the number of arrests
generated at the stores on 87th and state. Thank you Home Depot, after loosing seventy thousand a month on 87th in theft please stay away from 119th and marshfield
Liberal Democrats:
"Screwing things up royally since 1932"
SCC...
you are completely wrong on this subject, the slow down in retail expansion is a direct result of the credit crunch and the real estate industry in complete recession. Most of the locations that you cited where the "big boxes" are delaying expansion plans are in the growing edge areas of this metroplex, such as Minooka, the same areas most affected by the real estate downturn. These areas are the "Republican" heart of Illinois, far removed from the "living wage" ordinance of the City council. The Governors attempts at increasing corporate taxes was rejected by strong bipartisan support this year. Government interference is a very minor part of these corporate decisions, rather, they are another sign that a broader recession is about to descend upon our economy.
Just recently a major national home builder "Lenar" anounced it is ceasing any new construction in Plainfield and is rumored to be on the edge of bankruptcy. SCC I know that you and the rest of the Hannity/Limbaugh Axis out there like to blame all of our problems on government largesse, however, this current crisis has to do with less interference rather than more. The credit and mortgage industries have for years gone nearly unregulated charging exorbitant rates, loaning money to risky applicants and putting money in the hands to those who had little personal discipline. Now all that is coming to a reconning. I wish it was as simple as blaming Blago and Ali Daley and the 50 Thieves however it is a bit more complex than that....
“…the fight over big box stores versus "living wage" costs the city jobs and tax revenue”
-SCC
“The housing market "bubble" is over played as the number of ARM's in trouble accounts for something like one-half of one percent of the total mortgages in default”
-SCC
“As it is, a non issue - except for the massive $200 million tax hike that could have been partially alleviated by a large tax paying corporation opening stores around town”
-SCC
SCC you’re like the St. Nick of disinformation here, is this your way spreading the holiday spirit? I guess you have a point since it’s so depressing to focus on the fact Wall Mart alone is responsible for the loss of nearly 200,000 American jobs and has contributed 11% towards the US-China deficit via its 27 BILLION dollars in imports from China.
Oh my! Surely you were aware that when American businesses relocate operations overseas what they produce in their foreign sweatshops is then imported into the US and counts towards the trade deficit with the country of origin—China in the case with Wall-Mart (but many others as well). So what about those taxes revenues you were lamenting? Well under this clever arrangement the Wal-Marts and GMs get to pocket much would-be tax revenue since the corporate-written US tax code allows them to keep the fruits of what they manufacture abroad. Neat trick isn’t it?
SCC, the next time you come across some b.s about the “jobs” and tax revenues municipalities put at risk by demanding that the Big Box chains pay their workers a living wage think of this.
"Creative mortgages, some not used since before the great depression, gained popularity as the average wage erner could no longer afford the average house"
- 12/25/2007 11:56:00 AM
There is one important fact that needs to be stressed, none of these "creative mortgages" were ALLOWED before deregulation of the financial and banking industry under the Reagan administration and supported by every admnistration that followed.
So we are left to relearn the lessons our grandparent's generation taught us over 70 years ago: the industry [banking, mortgage, financial] cannot be trusted to police itself. Greed and self-interest will always win out.
yeah, whatever. If the city hadn't dithered, these projects would be in place, and 15 local hardwares and other businesses would be out of business. Who the f**k cares if a walmart didn't get built. You can't grow an economy on retail.
Went to Sams Club in Tinley Park to purchase my SEVERAL cases of water....Isnt this similar to the Boston Tea Party?
You forgot one: Won World War II. You need to study your history.
Anonymous said...
Went to Sams Club in Tinley Park to purchase my SEVERAL cases of water....Isnt this similar to the Boston Tea Party?
12/26/2007 07:29:00 AM
Same here people will still buy water, but for cases it will be out of this rotting criminal daleyinc city!
Figures, SCC does not support more money for the poor working class slob. He is above that. Just more money to give the seven-figure Republicans on the corporate board. You'll never learn, SCC, until it is too late. The GOP cares not about you one bit.
Family Dollars are doing well everywhere.
"You forgot one: Won World War II. You need to study your history"
-12/26/2007 02:52:00 PM
I'm not sure what you are referring to, if in fact this comment is addressed to me. As I understood it we were discussing the matter of Big Box stores and their unwillingness to provide living wages to their employees.
Furthermore, many of these Big Box stores contribute negatively to our trade deficit with nations in which collective bargaining is severely restricted or prohibited and where human rights abuses are legion. The relevancy of the Second World War would therefore seem to have no bearing on my comments at all.
Returning now to the theme of this thread I thought it would be instructive to take a peek at how the "other side" is getting by in this uncertain financial climate. The following is courtesy of Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and is priceless.
The city fucks business so bady with all the extra taxes, forcing companies to hire dogasses, etc...! I buy in the burbs anyway taxes are cheaper!
Once again you are putting your spin on. You are the master alright. Look at how the first few comments go right along with you. Naive juvenile police. Please stop.
I live across the street from the suburbs! It's easy for my family to not have to buy anything from this thieving City!
"Once again you are putting your spin on"
-12/27/2007 02:43:00 AM
I'll check on this space again and respond when you present an argument my friend.
Stay safe.
Any tax money Cook county or the city recieve is pissed away by the powers that be and is never used for what it was intended. Look back to the lottery. The schools are alawys broke and the CTA never has money. If there were A Target and Home Depot built on every corner in Chicago your property tax would still increase. The city of Chicago and county of Cook are money pits with incompetent leaders. with all the coruption and stealing how come no one had to pay back any of the money when they got caught?
There are dogasses in the suburbs to, come to think of it half this department are dogasses.
All the future shop lifters are disappointed
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