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Empty populism and missing the point

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Illinois

* The double standard continues.

There’s no doubt that the Cook County sales tax remains horribly unpopular. The tax hike pushed the county into the “highest in the nation” category, and the anger was multiplied many times over by Cook County President Todd Stroger’s gross public ineptness and the often overly harsh media coverage of his administration.

The Sun-Times has blasted Stroger for his tax hike, endorsed Mike Quigley for Congress mainly because of his fight against Stroger’s tax increase, but praised Gov. Pat Quinn yesterday for his honesty when proposing an income tax increase.

Huh?

The Tribune has overreacted against the governor’s tax increase, but it overreacted to Stroger’s tax hike, so at least it’s consistent.

Anyway, legislators are obviously spooked at the reaction to the county tax hike, and would undoubtedly like to deflect voter anger away from them and onto a convenient scapegoat like Todd Stroger. So we get unfunded populist mandates like this bill, which passed the House Executive Committee yesterday…

Cook County’s widely reviled sales tax increase would be rolled back and future hikes restricted under a plan that narrowly passed an Illinois House committee Thursday.

As proposed, lawmakers would undo the 1 percentage point increase the Cook County Board approved last year and force the board to go to voters if members want to reinstate it.

Suburban Cook County lawmakers of both parties have been calling for the rollback as the tax increase pushed by County Board President Todd Stroger has riled suburban officials, businesses and taxpayers who see shoppers flocking to neighboring retailers where taxes are lower.

The House Executive Committee, which is controlled by Democrats, approved the rollback 6-5, sending it on to the full House. Its future there, however, is politically dubious.

Talk about an unfunded mandate. Plus, if members vote for this bill, shouldn’t they also ask for a citizens’ referenda before raising any state taxes?

As noted in the story, the bill is probably not going to make it to the governor’s desk, but it gives legislators a chance to rant and rave about someone else and raise false hopes amongst the angry populace.

* In other news…

Not even the promise of $3 billion in federal stimulus aid could avert hundreds of teacher layoffs announced this month in schools across the Chicago area.

School districts from Grayslake to Romeoville and West Aurora have authorized pink slips for educators, social workers, librarians and support staff—cuts the recovery package was specifically intended to avoid.

Many of the area’s top educators say they are still unsure how much of the federal windfall they will get after it filters through a state government beset by its own financial troubles.

Illinois could face an $11.5 billion shortfall. And while Gov. Pat Quinn this week proposed an income tax hike and fee hikes on everything from license plates to cigarettes, many school veterans worry a shell game could ensue where the stimulus money supplants other state funding, defeating what they believe was the intent of the investment. [emphasis added]

The governor’s defenders say he’s using the stimulus money exactly as intended - to ward off cuts to education spending. That assumes, of course, that he would’ve cut education spending. Not terribly likely. What the governor’s defenders don’t say is the stimulus money is also supposed to be used to help local school boards avoid cuts. That clearly won’t happen.

I’m also not sure why the Trib article claims that there is some vague worry about a “shell game,” when the governor’s proposal clearly uses 90 percent of the $2 billion federal education stimulus money to balance the state’s operating budget.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 9:38 am

Comments

This was a Cross-Blagojevich idea back last year.

I think this group of folks think this will help them pass an income tax increase.

Its almost like a pretend tax swap.

Comment by George Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 10:02 am
What we are witnessing is government - at all levels - is starting to go through withdrawal symptoms.

The cash is starting to get choked off, and they are panicking. There are 100+ years of bureaucracy that has evolved, bureaucracy that is addicted to cash. Special interest groups, unions, cliques, cadres…all are worrying that their hard fought power is going to go *poof*.

And without power, they are just schmucks like the rest of us.

Comment by Zounds Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 10:09 am
We do need new leadership in Cook County government, and some kind of means testing needs to be applied to all county programs and operations, with an eye on improving poorly performing programs or eliminating them.

Note that means testing would mean reviewing the efficiency and the efficacy of a particular program (rather than an audit, which merely means that the financial results are stated fairly and without material misstatement) and should be performed by an independent consultant - best if it’s some firm from another state unconnected to anything related to Illinois or Cook County. The State should engage such a consultant to do the same.

But, that said, whatever results are and whatever cutbacks may be selected and whereever people may lose their jobs, Cook County will still have a big structural deficit, and the sales tax, as stupid as it is, doesn’t cover that.

Rescind the sales tax and raise property taxes. Even though property values are falling, they’re still a better and more consistent source of revenue than the sales tax is. Not to mention less punishing to the county’s poorest residents.

This should be paired with reducing funding being paid into the Pension plans - temporarily - in order to balance the budget - with whatever pension payments are made being focused on the most underfunded plans. Pension plans everywhere got killed by the collapse of the market. Some of those losses will be undone once the market starts to recover. As the economy improves and revenues start to pick up again, then the government should focus on fully funding the pensions in the shortest order possible.

The best way, in my view, to reduce the structural deficits faced by so many governments in Illinois is to start eliminating units of government in Illinois. We have waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many units of local government, and we could realize a lot of economies of scale by consolidating goofy units of government into State, County, or Municipal governments - things like park districts, library districts, mosquito abatement districts, etc. Why does Chicago have to have a separate Health Department unique from that of Cook County? There are probably some services the Chicago HD performs that aren’t performed by Cook County, but CC should be able to perform those functions as well, with overall reduced costs.

That said, Stroger does sometimes seem to get an unusually high level of anger directed at him for behavior that is common with a lot of elected officials in Chicago. He didn’t help himself by acting like a Boss from the get go, instituting the friends and family plan and acting like he was King, especially after the shady way he was handed the nomination.

However, Daley’s gotten away with far worse signs of corruption and arrogance for a far greater period of time with far less criticism. The editors at the Sun-Times should do a bit of self-reflection on how they treat elected officials - not that they should be nicer to Stroger - but that they should be rougher on Daley and other white politicians.

I’ll stop rambling now.

Comment by jerry 101 Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 10:12 am
The anger from the general public is out there and our elected officials are not taking it as seriously as they should. Yes, they are worried, but in reality they should be panicked.

Responses I am getting going door to door for municipal and township candidates include: (1) a loud and angry NO to any tax increases, (2) they should return their pay increases, cut back on their perks, (3) where are the mass layoffs of government workers in all levels of government, (4) they want us to pay for their screw ups.

With regards to just saying “no” they have no problem with that at the moment, although I don’t see that strategy working very much longer. They want they services and they want someone else to pay for them.

Not pretty. Not very pretty at all. And for those who think that tossing Blagojevich under the bus protects them, well . . . stay away from bus stops and depots for a while.

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 10:38 am
The primary goal of the Obama Administration and leaders of Congress was to pass the stimulus package quickly. Rather than come up with new funding criteria for projects and newer ways of directing funding to those projects - which would have taken valuable time - they decided to funnel the stimulus dollars through existing federal funding programs with their set distribution formulas. That’s why states have such a prominent role in doling out stimulus funds. The problem is that there isn’t a lot of money that eventually filters down to local school districts, municipalities, etc. after the states take the cuts they are entitled to under established funding formulas.

Comment by GA Watcher Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 10:48 am
I think GA’s right. The main goal was to pump money into the system quickly and, within reason, let the states decide how to spend it.

School district send out layoff notices every spring. It doesn’t mean there will be layoffs. Once they factor in retirements and their state funding, most are usually brought back. This is pretty standard. And under Quinn’s proposal, they’re getting a state bump.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 11:03 am
You need a credible leader to pass a tax hike without backlash. You need timing, need, ability and leadership - not just governmental need.

We got sold a handfull of rotten beans this year based on a fear campaign of economic ruin - for over a Trillion dollars. Naturally, we are queazy and sick from being taken - even if we hold no hard feeling against the new guy in office and feel sorry for him. We’re tapped out and having buyer’s remorse, regardless of the eventual outcome. Would you buy a Rolls Royce from a catalog as you file bankrupsy? Sure, you might get a Rolls, which is a fine automobile, but you don’t know when you will get it and don’t know if you can ever pay for your order - the stress will sour you for a long time.

We are in a similar phase. Like a parent who had to take out two more mortgages to fund a teen’s sixteeth birthday party, we are feeling a mixture of hope and dread. Who is making the promise is important.

When the promises are coming from a Stroger, taxpayers will not accept it.

When the promises are coming from a Quinn, taxpayers are more likely to listen.

If the promises are coming from an Obama, taxpayers are now starting to have second doubts.

Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 11:57 am
Cook County needs no advice on fiscal policy from State legislators who have passed budgets that have led to projected budgetary deficits between $9-11 billion. Home rule should supercede political gamesmanship by the State Democratic legislative leaders trying to escape culpability for the annointment of Todd Stroger by the Cook County Democratic Party.

I think the ultimate “solution” to the County’s fiscal problems is to elect responsible and competent leaders, rather than restricting the County’s taxing powers (e.g., Vallas or Claypool). All tax referendums are likely to be defeated by the voters since taxes are always unpopular,even though the electorate demands services.

Comment by Captain America Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 12:17 pm
All right, alarmist students of government. Let’s play. Regarding our frightened and endangered legislators, why don’t you all make up a list of all the legislators who have lost re-election because they voted for a tax hike?

Comment by steve schnorf Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 12:19 pm
The focus of the proposed FY 10 budget is paying the overdue bills. But all the bills, or just the Medicaid ones that bring in the federal matching reimbursements? It needs to be all the bills.

Education leaders are screaming that how could taxes be increased without a major increase in education funding. Guess what - the long overdue restructuring of community services rates is also not included. Local providers are collapsing all around the state, due to insufficient state rates and late payments.

But most hum,an services providers concur with the prioritization of paying the old bills first, and then next year we can work on rates restructuring and more adequetely funding education.

Comment by Capitol View Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 12:20 pm
So, the theory of many educators is that the Gov should have increased school funding IN ADDITION TO the stimulus money. I guess I can see that, unless there was some sort of fiscal crisis, and then it might be an unreasonable expectation.

Oh, BTW, one bright spot I see is that paying old bills is a one-time expense, so if that’s how we use most of the ‘10 money, it does make dollars available for allocation in ‘11.

Comment by steve schnorf Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 12:25 pm
Schnorf-

Here’s the list of all of the Illinois House members who lost re-election after they voted for the Edgar education tax hike/swap:

I think that’s comprehensive.

Sincerely,

YDD

P.S. Mike Frerichs, Mike Noland and Dan Kotowski won their seats campaigning OPENLY in support of a tax swap plan.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 3:24 pm
Dog, you might have to go back to Barr to find one you could make a case for (but not open and shut)

Comment by steve schnorf Friday, Mar 20, 09 @ 3:48 pm