For those not in the know, or not in Chicago, the council last night passed another tax increase. We were already one of the highest taxed metro areas in the country and by far the highest in the Great Lakes / Midwest region, but they raised the sales tax AGAIN! The news reports are saying this makes "us" the highest taxed city in the nation now. I'm not sure if that means all of Cook County, or Cook County + Chicago (which also has a pretty heavy tax burden on its own!)The Cook County Council-
as seen through a "reality filter"
It is well that the Logo of the Democratic party is the donkey, because these guys are a herd of jack-asses!
Of course they had no problem raising our taxes... its much easier to feed the fattened sow which is the county government than to actually... oh... DO THEIR JOBS... and run it well.
I'm most irate because this hits hardest those who can least take it- the poor, unemployed, seniors, those on fixed income, etc. Those who have more income have the means to avoid Chicago's confiscatory taxes, and are doing so in droves. So who gets left paying it? Fools who don't know any better in some cases, but mostly people who don't have any choice.
So much for their caring about the little guy!
- The little guy doesn't have a 2nd home in Indiana or Wisconsin where he can buy things for 3-5% less.
- The little guy can't whore himself out to lobbyists for tricks and treats.
- The little guy can't turn around and pass the pain on to someone else- they're at the bottom of the food chain, and these maggots are feasting on their corpse.
All the little guy can do is vote for someone who gives a rat's- or donkey's- ass about them... and its about time the people of this county did so!
Can you say "Recall" boys and girls? Good... lets get it on!
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The cartoon above is the original cartoon by Thomas Nast which associated the Donkey with the Democratic party
5 comments:
Well, I for one tried to get Jay Paul Deratany elected, whose platform centered around the tax and run schemes of Berrios and Stroger, but he was defeated by 60% of the voters that voted for that office, so that tells me there are more assholes who enjoy paying taxes than those of us who don't. This just gives me another reason to cut down on spending or travel outside of Cook County for large purchases.
I'm all for paying taxes if the money is spent on useful, EFFICIENT programs. But government has become too large and too out of control, and therefore way too powerful. And the people paying the taxes just aren't paying attention, which just adds to the tax-and-waste uber power of Cook County and Chicago governments.
A good friend of mine who is LEGITIMATELY disabled (still waiting for SSI to kick in) is dependent on Stroger Hospital and their affiliated clinics for his healthcare. I have been his only source of transport to his hospital/clinic visits as of late, because even though he has a neurological disorder that has rendered his legs weak, and even though he now has a broken ankle (multiple fracture, going to require surgery), Cook County (Stroger Hospital) will not provide a wheel chair even though he can barely move on crutches and they won't provide transportation for him, even one way (they just cut off the rides home saying the budget for it has been cut and he has already used "his share" of trips home). He has no family, and if it weren't for friends, he'd be up a shit creek. Utterly ridiculous.
BB- I thought that was part of JPD's main platform. The thing is... lots of people who aren't like Snark's friend vote for these leaches because they have no trouble getting out of county/state and going shopping where the tax rate is sometimes close to HALF what it is here.
As I found when Tess and I were trying to speak to the racism, misogyny, and hypocrisy of our former church body, most people would rather go on pretending that the emperor is wearing a three piece suit than admit to the facts that:
1) His wedding tackle is out there blowing in the wind.
2) They're the ones responsible for his being that way.
Snark- I didn't know you were doing all that... its wonderful that you are being such a good friend to him, and utterly PATHETIC & SHAMEFUL that the political and civic institutions which are charged with caring for such as him are so negligent.
On paying taxes... if we get what we pay for, that's one thing, though being a hard core libertarian, I have a very limited view of what the proper role of government is... but we're being scammed BIG TIME here in Chicago/Cook County.
Chicago/CC should take a lesson from the Hoosiers here. Back when I was a lad, they combined the city and county governments, which resulted in much greater operational efficiency for less cost.
No one thinks of Hoosiers as being progressive or ahead of the curve, but in this regard, Indianapolis is in the 21st century, while Chicago/CC remains in the 19th.
My only comment is that I have now chosen to spend as little money in Chicago and Cook Co. as possible. When I visit my parents in Naperville, my mother always comments that I seem to spend the entire day shopping. My answer to her is that I save up all my shopping errands until I go to see them so I can avoid paying the dry hump they like to call sales tax. Any time anyone needs to make a big ticket purchase, I do have a car and would be willing to lend it or drive you.
We have a car too, though we use it as little as possible- mostly for taking Tess to the doctor or BIG shopping runs.
Too bad there's so much construction between here and Valpo- half my living family is there, and Indiana's taxes are MUCH lower!
Think maybe Chicago can secede from Cook County or Illinois? There were some counties in Michigan near S-Bend which were trying to do that a few years ago.
Say what ya want about Hoosiers- they don't tax the life out of ya, or pass laws dictating whether or not you can eat insanely over priced French food made from duck's livers.
Live and let live... and GO [IU/Purdue/Notre Dame]- that's the Hoosier way!
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