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People better hang on to their hats
Showing posts with label Financial mess. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Financial mess. Show all posts
Monday, August 6, 2018
Friday, July 27, 2018
Irretrievable
these-american-states-are-drowning-in-irretrievable-debt
Illinois reform governor has accomplished nothing.
Illinois reform governor has accomplished nothing.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
NAFTA and a few other items
Paul Craig Roberts
For two decades the offshoring of American jobs to Asia and Mexico has destroyed the careers and incomes of tens of millions of US citizens, the pension tax base for state and local governments, the federal tax base for Social Security and Medicare, and the opportunity society that once characterized the United States of America.
The rise in corporate profits that resulted from substituting foreign labor for American labor rewarded corporate executives and boards, hedge funds, large shareholders, and Wall Street with profits at the expense of the American population and the US economy.
The low rates of economic growth claimed since the alleged recovery from the 2008 financial crisis that resulted from financial deregulation, a huge mistake made by politicians in service to capitalist greed, is based entirely on under-measuring inflation. Allegedly, Americans have suffered no inflation for a decade, but anyone who buys anything knows that that is a lie. What jobs offshoring did is to destroy the growth in productivity based US consumer purchasing power that drove the US economy. In short, the short-sighted
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Friday, June 8, 2018
Chicago is the leader.....vote democratic
Liberal utopia: Chicago leads US in underwater homes
From MyFoxChicago: The U.S. housing market has been on the rebound in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, but one major city has thousands of homes that remain underwater.
A recent report from the real estate website Zillow shows Chicago leading the country with 254,000 homes in negative equity. Twenty percent of the quarter million people with
underwater mortgages owe double the current value of the home.
Los Angeles, the only other U.S. metro area bigger than Chicago, had 74,000 underwater homes, while San Francisco had 20,000.
Cities that were hardest hit by the housing crisis have rebounded. Less than 10% of homes in Las Vegas are underwater, and Miami has an underwater rate of 8.7%.
The appreciation of home values in the Chicago area has decreased over the years in part by crime, unfunded pensions and taxes.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Monday, May 14, 2018
Friday, April 27, 2018
Emanuel blames Daley for avalanche of tax increases — without saying his name
 |
| Not his fault |
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday blamed his predecessor and political mentor for the avalanche of tax increases needed to solve Chicago’s $36 billion pension crisis without uttering the name of former Mayor Richard M. Daley. | Max Herman/For the Sun-Times
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday blamed his predecessor and political mentor for the avalanche of tax increases needed to solve Chicago’s $36 billion pension crisis without uttering the name of former Mayor Richard M. Daley.
“I would love nothing else in my life if somebody else had done it. … The question isn’t what I did. Part of the question has to be what wasn’t done beforehand that required that action” the mayor said during a taping of the WLS-AM (890) Radio program, “Connected to Chicago,” to be broadcast at 7 p.m. Sunday.
“Had this been taken care of before, it would have been taken care of at a much cheaper price. People
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Friday, April 6, 2018
I have to ask, did he think this through?
 |
| Shooting from the hip? |
Pritzker vows to ‘get rid’ of tuition tax credits for private and parochial schools
By Bill Cameron, WLS-AM News
(CHICAGO) Democrat JB Pritzker is out with big new proposals to solve the state’s budget and pension problems.
Long term, Pritzker wants a graduated income tax.
Short term, he wants to raise the current flat tax but add exemptions, “Raise exemptions for those striving to get to the middle class, for those in the middle class too. And, raise the overall rate and the earned income tax credit at the same time, all of which would create a kind of graduated income tax.”
On the state’s gigantic pension liability, Pritzker wants to amortize the debt, saying “We can step up and pay the payments that are owed into the pension system.”
As for the new tuition tax credits for private and parochial schools here’s what Pritzker wants to do, “We’re gonna get rid of ’em! I think diverting money away from public schools right now to private tuition tax credits seems like a really bad idea.”
His opponent, Republican Governor Bruce Rauner responded, “It’s shameful for Pritzker to say he would immediately end the scholarship program when so many low-income students will soon be benefitting from a better education. It’s clear Pritzker is out-of-touch with struggling families who can finally choose a brighter future for their children.”
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Interest Rates
Up They Go
The Significance of Today’s Rate Hike
The Federal Reserve, under new chairman Jerome “Jay” Powell, raised the federal funds target rate 25 basis points today. It was Powell’s first significant move as the new chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Let me first give my opinion of Jay Powell before weighing on the implications of today’s decision.
I worked with Jay Powell when he was at the U.S. Treasury and I was general counsel of a major primary dealer in government securities. The primary dealers act as underwriters at auctions of U.S. Treasury securities, so in effect, Jay was my firm’s biggest customer.
My impression of him was that he was highly professional and always acted in the
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
We all are going to be rich!
More Americans now support a universal basic income
Forty-eight percent of Americans support a universal basic income.
Longtime advocates say we're closer than ever to adopting the program.
What is universal basic income? 1:49 AM ET Thu, 28 Dec 2017 | 04:22
Political philosopher and economist Karl Widerquist, an associate professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, remembers a poll from 10 years ago that showed just 12 percent of Americans approved of a universal basic income.
That's changed — and quickly. Today, 48 percent of Americans support it, according to a new
Forty-eight percent of Americans support a universal basic income.
Longtime advocates say we're closer than ever to adopting the program.
What is universal basic income? 1:49 AM ET Thu, 28 Dec 2017 | 04:22
Political philosopher and economist Karl Widerquist, an associate professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, remembers a poll from 10 years ago that showed just 12 percent of Americans approved of a universal basic income.
That's changed — and quickly. Today, 48 percent of Americans support it, according to a new
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Friday, February 9, 2018
Monday, February 5, 2018
UBI, coming to Chicago and Cook County soon? Why not?
CALIFORNIA CITY TO ADOPT 'UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME'
Residents to get $500 a month, no questions asked,
The mayor of Stockton, California, is leading an experiment with “universal basic income,” which is set to start by giving low-income residents $500 a month, no questions asked.
Mayor Michael Tubbs calls his city “ground zero” for issues like wage stagnation, rising housing prices and loss of middle-class jobs that affect the nation.
The Central Valley city went bankrupt in 2012, and for decades it has been trying to diversify its agriculture-based economy.
“I feel that as mayor it’s my responsibility to do all I could to begin figuring out what’s the best way to make sure that folks in our community have a real economic floor,” Tubbs said.
Dorian Warren serves as co-chairman the Economic Security Project, which is contributing $1 million to the initiative. He said the goal is to gather data on the economic and social impacts of giving people a basic income.
In addition to tracking what residents do with the money, Warren said they will be monitoring how a basic income affects things like self-esteem and identity.
“What does it mean to say, ‘Here is unconditional guaranteed income just based on you being a human being?'” Warren asked.
The hope is to demonstrate the potential of “universal basic income,” or UBI, as it is being called, and to encourage other places, like Chicago, to give it a try. UBI has recently gotten a boost from Silicon Valley moguls concerned about income inequality and the future of society, but the idea isn’t actually all that new, said Michelle Anderson, a Stanford law professor.
“UBI was first pitched by Nixon as an answer to post-industrial job losses,” she said.
With this experiment, Anderson said Stockton may discover it gets more economic stimulus by giving money to its citizens rather than corporations it hopes will bring in jobs and tax revenue.
“The UBI that is being proposed in Stockton now is very small compared to the big corporate subsidies that cities like that engage in,” Anderson said.
Stockton racked up millions in debt on development projects in the past, which got the city into trouble, said Tubbs.
“We’ve overspent on things like arenas and marinas and things of that sort to try to lure in tourism and dollars that way,” he said.
Tubbs thinks the UBI experiment will show that Stockton’s best bet is to invest in its own people. He doubts very much that the people will use the money to buy drugs.
Residents to get $500 a month, no questions asked,
The mayor of Stockton, California, is leading an experiment with “universal basic income,” which is set to start by giving low-income residents $500 a month, no questions asked.
Mayor Michael Tubbs calls his city “ground zero” for issues like wage stagnation, rising housing prices and loss of middle-class jobs that affect the nation.
The Central Valley city went bankrupt in 2012, and for decades it has been trying to diversify its agriculture-based economy.
“I feel that as mayor it’s my responsibility to do all I could to begin figuring out what’s the best way to make sure that folks in our community have a real economic floor,” Tubbs said.
Dorian Warren serves as co-chairman the Economic Security Project, which is contributing $1 million to the initiative. He said the goal is to gather data on the economic and social impacts of giving people a basic income.
In addition to tracking what residents do with the money, Warren said they will be monitoring how a basic income affects things like self-esteem and identity.
“What does it mean to say, ‘Here is unconditional guaranteed income just based on you being a human being?'” Warren asked.
The hope is to demonstrate the potential of “universal basic income,” or UBI, as it is being called, and to encourage other places, like Chicago, to give it a try. UBI has recently gotten a boost from Silicon Valley moguls concerned about income inequality and the future of society, but the idea isn’t actually all that new, said Michelle Anderson, a Stanford law professor.
“UBI was first pitched by Nixon as an answer to post-industrial job losses,” she said.
With this experiment, Anderson said Stockton may discover it gets more economic stimulus by giving money to its citizens rather than corporations it hopes will bring in jobs and tax revenue.
“The UBI that is being proposed in Stockton now is very small compared to the big corporate subsidies that cities like that engage in,” Anderson said.
Stockton racked up millions in debt on development projects in the past, which got the city into trouble, said Tubbs.
“We’ve overspent on things like arenas and marinas and things of that sort to try to lure in tourism and dollars that way,” he said.
Tubbs thinks the UBI experiment will show that Stockton’s best bet is to invest in its own people. He doubts very much that the people will use the money to buy drugs.
Thursday, January 11, 2018
California is broke again, wants to cut pensions
Three years after massive tax increases, they have again spent all the money ..... on welfare.
california-s-brown-raises-prospect-of-pension-cuts-in-downturn
Retirees need to watch this case, it could happen in Illinois next.
california-s-brown-raises-prospect-of-pension-cuts-in-downturn
Retirees need to watch this case, it could happen in Illinois next.
Thursday, December 28, 2017
People are splitting
Three Democratic-leaning states hemorrhaged hundreds of thousands of people in 2016 and 2017 as crime, high taxes and, in some cases, crummy weather had residents seeking greener pastures elsewhere.
The exodus of residents was most pronounced in New York, which saw about 190,000 people leave the state between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released last week.
New York’s domestic out-migration during that time period was about the same as it was in the same time 2015 and 2016. Since 2010, the state’s outflow of just over 1 million residents has exceeded that of every other state, both in absolute terms and as a share of population, according to the free-market think tank Empire Center.
Despite the massive domestic out-migration flow, New York’s net population grew slightly, largely due to high levels of international immigration and a so-called “natural increase” — the difference between births and deaths in a given year. New York’s net migration was about minus 60,000 residents, but the state had 73,000 more births than deaths, resulting in a net population growth of about 13,000.
Illinois was not so fortunate. Long-beset by twin budget and pension crises and the erosion of its tax base, Illinois lost so many residents that it dropped from the fifth to the sixth-most populous state in 2017, losing its previous spot to Pennsylvania.
Just under 115,000 Illinois residents decamped for other states between July 2016 and July 2017. Since 2010, the Land of Lincoln has lost about 650,000 residents to other states on net, equal to the combined population of the state’s four largest cities other than Chicago, according to the Illinois Policy Institute.
Illinois’ domestic out-migration problem has become a nightmare for lawmakers, who must find a way to solve the worst pension crisis in the nation as the state’s tax base shrinks year after year. Illinois’ Democratic-dominated legislature has tried to ameliorate the situation with tax hikes, causing even more people to leave and throwing the state into a demographic spiral. Illinois experiences a net loss of about 33,000 residents in 2016, the fourth consecutive year of population decline.
“As people leave the state, they take their pocketbooks with them. That means there are fewer Illinoisans to pay the bills,” Orphe Divounguy, chief economist with the Illinois Policy Institute, told the Chicago Tribune. “It’s worrying because if you have a declining population and a declining labor force, you will for sure have a further slowdown of economic activity going into 2018.”
California was the third deep blue state to experience significant domestic out-migration between July 2016 and July 2017, and it couldn’t blame the outflow on retirees searching for a more agreeable climate. About 138,000 residents left the state during that time period, second only to New York.
However, because California was the top receiving state for international migrants, its net migration was actually 27,000. Add to that number a “natural increase” of 214,000 people, and California’s population grew by about just over 240,000, according to the Census Bureau.
Going forward, one factor that could worsen domestic out-migration from New York, California and Illinois is the newly-enacted tax reform bill, which caps state and local tax (SALT) deductions at $10,000. The limit on SALT deduction is poised to hit taxpayers harder in those states than it will in just about any other.
According to the Tax Foundation, New York, Illinois and California had three of the five highest tax rates expressed as a percentage of per capita income, with residents paying 12.7 percent, 11 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Friday, November 24, 2017
Rahm doesn't know
THIS IS A BOMB THAT IS GOING TO HIT! You can thank our politicians from 10 or 20 years ago, who kicked the can down the street.
In the Chicago City Council discussion Tuesday about the budget it passed, Mayor Emanuel was asked what the plan is to deal with big looming pension payment spikes. We have never run away” from doing what’s needed and “when we have to come to that moment…will answer that question.” That’s according to a Tweet by The Bond Buyer’s Yvette Shields.
In other words, he doesn’t have an answer. Nobody does. Neither does Rahm lose sleep as he won't be the mayor when this spike hits. He will be back to the north shore working for some investment house.
What that’s referring to is the up-ramp in taxpayer pension contributions that the city faces starting next year, haven gotten the legislation it wanted this year to kick the can on payments it couldn’t make. That ramp is below. It extends only to the years shown because the city hasn’t even provided the numbers for further years. 
The question was asked by the Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman. Why she didn’t emphasize that statement by Rahm in her article about the meeting is distressing.
The question was asked by the Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman. Why she didn’t emphasize that statement by Rahm in her article about the meeting is distressing.
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