Morning shorts
Wednesday, Oct 3, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Daley says tax hike would help libraries
* Daley says libraries deserve record property tax hike
* Sun-Times Editorial: Too many taxes would leave us in a bind
What’s most disturbing about Daley’s proposed tax hikes is his reluctance to build a stronger case for them. His administration throws out the numbers without a huge sense of urgency, baiting aldermen to rubber-stamp his plans with more police officers, surveillance cameras and recycling efforts. Daley is defiant. He will get what he wants without many questions.
As an elected leader, Daley has a responsibility to detail where the money will go. Give us the opportunity to digest why we need more taxes. Otherwise, the mayor’s ideas don’t hold any water. Bottled or otherwise.
* Kane Co. weighing sex charges for Rep Rush’s son; more here and here
* Tribune Editorial: Let the unfair ‘tax cap’ die
* Senate OKs higher speed limit for trucks
* Editorial: Don’t shortchange SCHIP
Illinois is one of a dozen states that did the latter, securing Uncle Sam’s permission to cover parents through its FamilyCare program. At the end of 2006 Illinois had 160,000 children covered by SCHIP, and nearly as many adults - some 131,000. Meanwhile, 16 other states pushed the program’s income limits far higher than SCHIP’s original goal, which was 200 percent of federal poverty level (about $41,300 for a family of four). Missouri opens its program to families earning at least three times poverty level, or $61,950. New York wants to multiply by four, to $82,000.
* Editorial: Legal drinking age should be kept at 21 nationwide
* State wants applicants for emergency grants
* CPR: Will playoff run boost Cubs price tag?
- Truthful James - Wednesday, Oct 3, 07 @ 9:04 am:
One of our members commented, after I had posted a summary of the Maryland taxoholics, that Michigan was in Dire Straits as wll. Here is a summary of the Michigan situation.
HAIL TO THE TAXERS
Already 14th in tax burden among the 50 states, according to the Tax Foundation, Michigan is now headed up in the rankings, says the Wall Street Journal.
Consider:
A handful of Republicans in the Legislature recently broke days of gridlock and agreed to the $1.48 billion tax increase Democrats were demanding.
The state’s personal income tax will rise to 4.35 percent from 3.9 percent and the rest of the revenue grab will come from a new 6 percent sales tax on business services.
The tax hike will only worsen what is already a dire situation, says the Wall Street Journal:
Last year, amid the national expansion, Michigan was the only state outside the Gulf Coast to lose jobs and see a decline in economic output.
Comerica Bank recently moved its headquarters to Texas, in part because of Michigan’s hostile business climate.
Michigan’s 7.4 percent jobless rate is the highest of all states and far above the 4.6 percent national rate.
The Michigan Chamber of Commerce estimates that two-thirds of the $750 million in new sales tax revenue will apply to business transactions that are tax exempt in most states to avoid a compounding effect that raises costs to final consumers, says the Journal. The tax is especially unfair to small employers that contract out for activities, such as office services, that large businesses provide in-house with no sales tax applied. By the way, last year Michigan introduced a new 4.95 percent business income tax, which will be applied on top of the sales tax.
Shall we join Mayland and Michigan?
- Bloomington Abnormal - Wednesday, Oct 3, 07 @ 9:14 am:
The Pantagraph is just plain wrong. If you can die in Iraq (or serve this country in any way militarily) you should be able to drink legally.
A compromise could be 18 for military personnel, active or reserve.
However, it should be 18 for everybody. Period. You can sign contracts and be obligated to them, you can get married and have the responsibilities and obligations attendant to that, but no liquor?.
Illogical. Carrie Nation strikes again.
- Aaron Slick from Pumpkin Creek, Il - Wednesday, Oct 3, 07 @ 9:37 am:
Yep, just what we need for population control, the raising of the speed limit to 65 mph for trucks on our roads. I can only speak for Will County where I live. For every one truck that is going the 55 mph speed limit, there are nine trucks traveling at 70 mph that are passing that one truck traveling at 55 mph.
If the Illinois Senate in their infinite wisdom has decided that 55 mph is too slow for a truck weighing over 70,000 pounds to travel, please drive your car up to (or down) to Will County and place your lives and vehicles in harm’s way. The senate must have had the trucking industry down in Springfield with their checkbooks out writing campaign contributions this past week. Will County roads are falling apart fast enough as it is as overweight trucks bounce along at 55 mph “Plus” on our roads while tearing them up and putting Will County automobile passengers at risk. They should first try enforcing the existing 55 mph speed limit before they raise it another 10 mph and put more lives at stake.
- Squideshi - Wednesday, Oct 3, 07 @ 9:53 am:
“Those behind the current movement, such as Choose Responsibility, argue that people who are old enough to die for their country should be old enough to drink in their country…But the drinking age not only protects the individual; it also protects the public.”
I agree that anyone old enough to go to war is also old enough to drink. It is the Pantagraph Editorial Board’s reasoning that is not logically convincing to me. In other countries, with lower drinking ages, more people sooner learn to responsibly use alcohol, rather than abuse it. If it is driving that they’re worried about, how about significantly improving our public transportation and raising the driving age?
- Dan Vock - Wednesday, Oct 3, 07 @ 10:01 am:
Bush vetoed the SCHIP bill… http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1461632.html