We Wondered the Same Thing
Wasn't the largest sales tax increase in history supposed to alleviate all this? Wasn't Stroger bragging that he raised taxes more than was absolutely necessary in order to have a cushion and maybe defer future tax increases? Then what the hell is this?
Just minutes after Cook County Board President Todd Stroger boasted his $2.94 billion proposed budget for 2009 was free of additional taxes, several commissioners pounced on the plan Tuesday, describing it as fiscally irresponsible.
The budget, critics contend, cannot be balanced without borrowing $740 million through bond issues -- a tactic Stroger has been pushing for months.
We'd like the names of the banks that the Toddler is proposing to "borrow" $740 million from. Because we'd like to compare it to a list of his cousins, political contributors and commissioner relatives. Follow the money and we're sure everything would become obvious to Claypool and everyone else raising hell over this.
Labels: county
posted by SCC at 12:02 AM
18 Comments:
Don't blame me. I campaigned and voted for Forrest Claypool. Toddler proves there's TOO MANY DUMMIES!
Local government entities are almost entirely run based on debt, including rolling over expiring issues. The current credit crisis has raised interest rates being demanded, at the same time the loss in tax income from property taxes and transaction taxes has pushed up the increase in demand for even more debt from the local governments.
Its the same story just about everywhere, including New York, California, Massachusetts, Virginia, and cities everywhere.
At the same time, government pension funds are down 20-40% on average this year.
Its the end, and its not restricted to democrats or republicans. Choices will have to be made, and they won't be pretty. End the war on drugs? Stop social programs? End all sorts of non-educational programs by school systems? Start laying off municipal workers, including police and fire?
Look around, its happening, and it will continue to happen. Much like so many individual americans and companies, our governments are eyeballs deep in debt, and its used to fund much more than infrastructure.
where does all of this f'n money disappear to? this is the biggest scam of the century and you idiots keep electing these clowns.
He had to pay shortshanks first for his spot.
Cook County will be next in line after the automakers to ask for a Bailout. Such incompetence in office should be sent to jail. If stupidity was a crime, there would be a lot of life sentences handed out.
Is everyone in Cook County in such a drunken stupor that they keep voting for these hacks?
Wait until the Pension Fund issues the annual report after the end of the year. 40% funded at the max. Between CMOs,CDS, Real estate loans and I am not even counting what has happened to the stock market, 8 years to go.
What will the politicians do? Probably go to court and get out of the responsibility to fund these entities.
A lot of it disappeared back when Nixon was president and the country went off the gold standard and decided to back your paper currency with.....paper currency. We're owned in excess of 42% by foreign investors. So things really don't cost more, it's just that your money is worth less.
And when he asked for that big increase didn't he talk about giving some of it back? Urkle is a fuckup.
he knows he is not getting re-elected so he's taking it all with him.
Is Donna Dunnings the Toddler's real cousin or play cousin?
Is she like the Cuello of Cook County?
But though we already know, Cook County is FUBAR!
Stroger , his staff loaded with family and friends are morons. We the tax payer, pays pays pays. Once again, vote out all incumbents and we only need 25 aldermen.
I voted for Peraica This guy Todd is an arrogant ignorant jagoff
happy Turkey Day
Anonymous said...
Local government entities are almost entirely run based on debt, including rolling over expiring
issues. The current credit crisis has raised interest rates being demanded, at the same time the loss in tax income from property taxes and transaction taxes has pushed up the increase in demand for even more debt from the local governments.
Its the same story just about everywhere, including New York, California, Massachusetts, Virginia, and cities everywhere.
At the same time, government pension funds are down 20-40% on average this year.
Its the end, and its not restricted to democrats or republicans. Choices will have to be made, and they won't be pretty. End the war on drugs? Stop social programs? End all sorts of non-educational programs by school systems? Start laying off municipal workers, including police and fire?
Look around, its happening, and it will continue to happen. Much like so many individual americans and companies, our governments are eyeballs deep in debt, and its used to fund much more than infrastructure.
11/27/2008 01:24:00 AM
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The Screaming Professor Sez:
Great Civics lesson. Please expand it though, making it Chicago specific.
Is it true that Illinois has more levels of government than any of the other 49 states?
And more taxing authorities?
State of Illinois;
County of Cook;
City of Chicago;
Illinois Tollway Authority;
Water Reclamation District;
Mc Pier Authority;
Chicago Transit Authority;
Metropolitan Transit Authority;
Regional Transportation Authority;
Regional Airport Authority;
I'd love to see an expose' on the homes and lifestyles of the heads of these units of govt and their executive boards. Then we'd see where all our tax money is going!
And here are more problems with our city:
http://chicagotalks-space.near-time.net/news/2008/6/5/chicago-aldermen-face-no-hurdles-in-hiring-kin
Just some stuff to make ya crazy while you're digesting your turkey!
HAPPY HOLIDAY!!!!!
:)
3
im on furlough in AZ and they are having the fiscal problems. in Phoenix the mayor and his staff are taking 1 furlough day each month to help. some layoffs ,but they are cuttin the budget not raising taxes. not raising fees for jumping jacks or giving themselves a 6% raise.
hey urkel and midget, take a hint
and learn from others. don't just make up the rules as you go. every AZ PD is taking lateral transfers, just look up a city and you can find out their requirements.
tan and happy
11/27/2008 01:24:00 AM
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Yor are either an idiot or new here! What happens in Cook County isn't even close to whats happening in Ca, NY, MA, etc. This corruption has been going on all too long. Stroger and "friends" fix nothing and keep adding to the problem while they take care of themselves, friends, and family.
1:20, you misunderstand. Of course there is corruption, and the Chicago dems and Illinois Repubs are complete crooks. They've added to the problem.
But even without the local flavor of corruption, these problems are everywhere. Something like 37 or 40 states are reporting vast budget shortfalls. In places like NY, CA and MA the shortages being reported monthly in status reports are also growing monthly.
Where do you think Cook County taxes come from? Look it up and get a clue. They come from sales taxes on consumers who are spending less, property taxes on properties that are worth less, property transactions that are occurring far less frequently.
And if you have not noticed, the price of just about everything is down now due to deflation. There simply is no money, as people and governments are trapped in debt. Its not isolated to Chicago. The corruption here just exacerbates it. But even without it, evidence from basically everywhere (see the Phoenix comments above, for example) shows you that its not just Cook County.
The ONLY solution is less spending.
SCC, I wish some of your readers were better informed. Some things are bigger than even the local corrupt dems could engineer. International deflation is one of em.
12:20, AMMMMMEEEEEEENNNNN!
That is the part that is relatively specific to Chicago and Cook County. There is so much waste and so many do-nothing workers at the city and county level that it helps tighten the stranglehold of whats happening.
I'll give you guys an example. An east coast publicly traded utility company named Dominion recently issued 700 million or so in debt. Its the local power company for a large part of the mid-atlantic, and its not like people don't need power.
The interest rate they got was 8%+. Major banks are taking on debt above 10% in some cases, so great is there need for immediate capital. Even the Federal government's original loan to AIG was at 13%.
Compare this to municipal debt of the last 7 or 8 years in the U.S. at 4 or 5% rates.
Those higher interest rates due to the perceived risk and the capital shortage (deflation!) today are absolutely forcing cities and states to cut back severely. In places like California they are projecting tens of billions in budget shortfalls this year, next and in 2010. Likewise in New York. Google it if you don't believe me.
Embrace it and learn to love it. The collapse of our debt-ridden society is finally forcing the cuts in government that us conservatives have been calling for for decades. Just make sure you don't give anyone reason to make you one of the cuts.
And if you don't think its happening here, look back a few days at the post about the Police Board firing everybody for everything these days. You think that ain't intentional, and done based on marching orders? The city is looking to fire anyone it can, and it won't be hiring replacements anytime soon.
i may be wrong about this, but this is the second year in a row the county budget could not be released in book form due to the large number of errors (math and otherwise) it contained. well done donna. no nepotism there, she's great.
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