On 2/11, I to the DuPage county board meeting watching the republican government at work. We have 3 Democratic board members and 12 Republican so it can be a bit one sided. We are of the "upper middle class" venue if you listen to our...um....County Board. It is true that DuPage county has a much higher average income over many other areas of Illinois(our average is $78,000, Illinois average is $55,000), but there are 9 counties, that have an average income of higher than Illinois' median average, all but 2 are northern counties. My opinion? I think our "higher income" is not because of the republicon twitch, but because we're located near Chicago, as are the other 6 counties that make above the median(and that includes Cook).
Full disclosure: the reason I was at these particular meetings was due to my involvement with A Better Illinois, which is a grassroots group that is trying to get a ballot referendum on for the next general election that allows the voters of Illinois the ability to choose a graduated income tax(like 34 of the states now have) or stay with our antiquated misnomer tax system of "flat" which includes corporate loopholes galore. Illinois' tax system has not been really updated since the 1970's and is one of the biggest problems with our funding problems in the Land of Lincoln.
So...I'm sitting and listening to the workings of the board, who are basically wasting time and tax funds by holding a meeting to discuss the viability of sending a resolution to the State Assembly, which doesn't do anything at all in the actual process of putting the referendum on the ballot. Yep, just blowing smoke up their own asses...see how import'nt we are? Not much.
During the meeting there is time for public comment. Yes, I was there to speak, but I wasn't the only one.
There were representatives from different chapters of the League of Women Voters, IEA(one of the teacher's unions) and just regular old folks, shucks, who just came to speak...the same words...over and over again....blah blah blah"blank check", blah blah blah "we pay too much already", blah blah blah "businesses are going to move out!" All seemed to have the same message, sort of like the Stepford wife routine. I smelled something fishy. So, when I got home, I got on the google machine. See, the meetings are taped and you can watch everything over and over again...and everyone's name was right there so it was pretty easy to find out who these people were and what planet they're from.
So, one of the first person that struck me as a bit of a ranty lunatic was Glen Luckinbill who introduced himself as a "small business owner", in fact he said that he owned a business and his wife owned a business--the wording made it sound like there were at least 2 in the family, although there's only one that comes up on the web..which his wife is the president and he the sales executive(hmmm....wonder if they get that lucrative "minority" status since she's the prez?). He went on to say that they used to employ 30, now they employ 17 because of taxes(although the read on the company shows only 3 employees, including the Luckinbills, although I could be missing something), not, of course because of the recession that we've been in, that had nothing to do with it, just taxes. He also said that he and his wife are paying almost 50% of their profits in taxes now and if this went through, OH MY GOD! They'd have to move to another state. OK, so my first question, Who the Hell is doing your taxes?!?!!??!?! There isn't a smart business in this country that's paying that much and if that's true...DUDE, call me, I bet I can do better(but I will be charging him a "gullible" fee).
So the next brainiac I'd like to introduce you to is Jerry Schilling--talk about batshit crazy....I'm talking so far right, he don't make left turns when driving. He began his rant about how we pay too much in taxes, every year the state, county, municipal and other government institution raise taxes, fees, codes and we're being bled to death by taxes! He doesn't want to pay anything in taxes! OK. I really wanted to ask him how he thinks the roads would have been plowed by his house without paying taxes(we've had over 60" of snow), the snow plow fairies???? And the actual fact is that Illinois is a low tax state--we don't tax services, storage, entertainment, automotive service as do all of the states that surround us. We also have a lower tax rate than all of the states that surround us except Indiana(and its Indiana...where they tax services like hair cuts).
So, now what's his background? First, he's in his late 60's/early 70's so unless he's too silly not to retire, he's not paying state income taxes because Illinois doesn't tax retirement income! He runs a blog that complains about every little single thing that government does and he also writes for another rightwing blog(West Suburban Patriots) about, basically the same thing. He also seems to rant alot at the Naperville council meetings and is very upset by the whole smart meter thing, to the point of making a conspiracy out of it.
Then there's Victoria Deppe. Again, the phrases, "worst business climate", "worst unemployment", "highest sales tax", "will raise taxes on those making $18K), "Need to reform pensions and regulations" Illinois is "3rd highest in taxes and unemployment"...so many lies, so little time.
But who is Victoria Deppe? Well she writes on the Illinois Review right wing site, she's involved with the right wing Convention of States that wants to hold a Federal Constitutional Convention cuz they're tired of the Federal Government gettin' in their bidness. This "group" is the loving baby of Mark Levin and Glen Beck and...wait for it...ALEC--so that says how far right and out of step it is with the normal population. And she's a CHRISTIAN!!!! No, not a Christian, but a CHRISTIAN!!!!!, one that embraces the bible and bigotry if the websites that she's on are any evidence...again, she wants gomminint outta her bidness, but also wants gomminint all up in our bedroom bidness. And although I didn't see her being directly invovled in WSP, the Convention of States crap is all over that site.
Hmmm...do I see a pattern, not only of words, but of political bents?
But it gets stoopider....
We have Greg G. from Downers Grove who's unemployed...but he's also 51 and there has been so much written about how many workers have been laid off cuz of their age..no, that's not it, its cuz of taxes..and rich people are job creators(again, the rich person who doubles as the welfare agency...just create a job without profit? I don't think so). He can't pay more in income tax cuz he paid close to $6K for property tax...in Downers Grove...where I live...I had some scepticism about this cuz he was trying to play the "just middle class unemployed worker" so, since his address was mentioned in the hearings, I looked up his taxes...silly boy...don't you understand the interwebs? He paid less than $5K, yes still a lot, but why LIE about it unless you were playing dramaqueen? Again, property tax is not income tax...and, because of other laws in the Illinois tax structure, if Illinois had a fairer tax system, we in this area are assured to receive more funding which would bring down our property taxes...DUH. Oh...and he mentioned its a "spending" problem again.
So then we have Carol Davis who said she only made $40K a year working 2 jobs. She lives in Carol Stream. The only Carol Davis that comes up in Carol Stream is one that owns a business that makes over $70K.Now, those silly interwebs, they can come up with anyone that lives in an area that has a phone number/address...so, if this isn't the person that owns the $70K business, maybe she lives in a cardboard box behind McDonald's. She was all, "I've never resented a wealthy person, because I never got a job from a poor one"...OH HAHAHAH. And there's no rich person or small business person who makes up a job without having a need for it...and, again, that means that I'm the job creator(because my money is spent, not shipped to the Caymen Islands), not Mr. Moneybags. Oh, and she's on the West Suburban Patriots band wagon and a "prepper"(one that is preparing for the end of the world, as we know it). You know the ones that like to hoard food, weapons, etc. and talk about how their neighbors are the crazy ones? Cuz they're gonna have to shoot their neighbors when the collapse comes down.
So, on to the next economic superstar, Hugh Hamill. He owns a jewelry store...one that sells to other jewelers and customers that make appointments to be serviced...we ain't talking Zales, here! High end/luxury type customers. So, he says, again, we're bankrupt, too much spending, blah blah blah. Oh, and he's going to move his business to Tennessee because Tennessee has no personal income tax. Well, he's right on that to a point, but Tennessee does have an annual 6% tax on all income made by capital gains and investments..you know, stocks and stuff. I'm pretty sure that Mr. Hamill probably has a couple or 3 dollars invested and prolly will pay a capital gains tax considering his business and wealth--hmmm...maybe he didn't think this out too well?
Then there was Jan Shaw, from Wheaton, who's big splash on the google machine is that she ran for a School Board seat and made some disparaging remarks about special needs students...oh, and she is/was a board member on the teabagger site, West Suburban Patriots. This pattern isn't just developing, its a freaking snowstorm!
Then, there was Heidi Holan, again, she also is on WSP. She's also running for office in Illinois. She also has absolutely no knowledge about tax structures or math. Yep the, "spending issues", went into the definition of "fair" from Webster's Dictionary and then told this bizarre story about her 2 sons cutting wood, she pays them $10 an hour, one son works for 9 1/2 hours and she pays him 91.43(she took out the 3.75% for the old Illinois income tax) and the other worked for 10 hours and she paid him $89, cuz she took out the 11% made up income tax...huh?????? That's not how a graduated tax works anyway(both would pay 3.75% on the first bracket of $95, and only the other $5 would be taxed at a higher rate, no bracket jumps up by 8%) but there is absolutely nothing in the referendum about brackets! Is this how taxes work in Heidiland???? Because its not the way they work in the real world. So, she wants to be in the General Assembly and doesn't even understand basic taxes???? Really???? And who works their kids for that long chopping wood????
Of course there were the handwringers from the Koch and ALEC backed Americans for Prosperity and the Illinois Policy Institute, both of which have been shown to be partisan and lapdogs for the uber greedy rich. Both of the spokespersons mention how this would raise taxes on those incomes that were under $18,000, one of them said that it would start at $5000...again, no rates have been scheduled and the only structures that have been spoken about favorably all use similar scales as the CTBA, which would end at less than 7% for the wealthiest and no income tax for those who make less than $9000.., but then when you don't understand basic tax policy and think math is hard, I guess 7 and 11 are the same and paying no income tax until you reach $9000 is the same as paying taxes at $5000.
How crazy are these people? And, just how mean-spirited, selfish and greedy? Boggles the mind of compassionate, thinking people.
