Submitted by Mark Glennon of Wirepoints
An audible gasp went out in the breakout room I was in at last month’s pension event cosponsored by The Civic Federation and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. That was when a speaker from the Chicago Fed proposed levying, across the state and in addition to current property taxes, a special property assessment they estimate would be about 1% of actual property value each year for 30 years.
Evidently, that wasn’t reality-shock enough. This week the Chicago Fed published that proposal formally. It’s linked here.
It surely ranks among the most blatantly inhumane and foolish ideas we’ve seen yet.
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
Homeowners with houses worth $250,000 would pay an additional $2,500 per year in property taxes, those with homes worth $500,000 would pay an additional $5,000, and those with homes worth $1 million would pay an additional $10,000.
Is the Chicago Fed blind to human consequences? Confiscatory property tax rates have already robbed hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of Illinois families of their home equity — probably the lion’s share of whatever wealth they had.
Property taxes in many Illinois communities already exceed 3%, 4% and even 5% of home values. Across Illinois, the average is a sky-high 2.67 percent, the highest in the nation.
In south Cook County they already average over 5%. Most of those communities are working class, often African-American. The Fed says maybe you could make the tax progressive by exempting lower values, but that’s very difficult to do and, if you did somehow exempt the poor and working class, the bill pushed to the others would be astronomical.
Those rates have already plunged many communities into death spirals, demanding an immediate solution, but the Chicago Fed apparently wants to pour on more of the accelerant.
Don’t they understand that people won’t build on or improve property when property taxes are that high? When taxes are 3 percent to 6 percent, any value you add to your home is going to be taxed at that high rate forever. Have they never been to our communities with countless disrepaired, abandoned homes and commercial properties, which are the result?
Get this, which is part of the Fed’s reasoning:
“New taxes wouldn’t affect people thinking of moving to Illinois. While they would have to pay higher property taxes, that would be offset by not having to pay as much for their new homes. In addition, current homeowners would not be able to avoid the new tax by selling their homes and moving because home prices should reflect the new tax burden quickly.”
In other words, just confiscate wealth from current owners because they will pay, whether they stay or not, through an immediate reduction in home value.
This proposed tax would only address the five state pensions. What about the other 650-plus pensions in Illinois, particularly those for overlapping jurisdictions in Chicago which are grossly underfunded? The Fed was asked that at last month’s seminar and they, without explanation, said they didn’t bother to cover that.
I’ve earlier met Rick Mattoon, one of the Chicago Fed authors of the proposal. He’s a smart, likeable guy who I thought had lots of interesting information. For the life of me, however, I can’t understand how he would put his name on this proposal.
Property can’t leave, so seize it. That’s the basic idea.
During the week, I work up on NW Indiana. This was discussed on a morning AM talk show.
Someone called is to ask, “what is both broke and fixed?”
The answer – Chicago.
Also, I have posted this before, but it is shocking how the number of shootings / murders are reported like sports scores.
So now we know the plan. All of that equity in bubble real estate created in part by the Federal Reserve with suppressed interest rates and massive money creation is about to be taxed to bailout pensions. This will not end until the Rothschild Fed is completely destroyed, sound money restored, the stolen loot recovered and the gangsters and crooks at the Fed and Wall Street hung.
Yew, yes,yes, yes and yes!
Wow. So an able body adult can retire at 50. Stupidity at its finest
Property tax rates are in fact high in Texas, but it’s partly offset by not having a state income tax.
Those states with both high property tax rates and a state income tax get hit double and are the ones that are really hurting.
Republicans and Democrats claim that nothing more can be cut from their budgets, but they could hand their budget proposals to almost any actual tax ‘payer’ and we could probably reduce their spending by at least 90%.
Republicans and Democrats are both just as bad as each other.
I read the Fed proposal and that is what jumped out at me quickly——
The Supreme Court of Illinois ruled that cutting benefits is against the state Constitution– so the Fed quickly typed these words at the end of that sentence ” and to maintain it’s current level of services”….this shows the mindset that thy do not even bother to consider spending cuts, reducing the size of bloated state government and restructuring the current pension promises so that much of the unfunded pension costs could at least be gentrified in the long run ( wouldn’t want those govt and union contracts to not have their 6-figure annual retirement cushions)….
The fact that cuts to “programs” and “entitlements” as well as reducing the proven unsustainable pension promises is not even an option to these people shows the insanity quite clearly.
PS: to clarify, the state is not allowed to cut benefits of current retirees, but they refuse to restructure or reduce the bloated pension promises of those who are still working. This assures that the problem remains in perpetuity.
At least they still get to write off (on their federal return) up to $10,000 in property taxes and state income taxes (combined). /sarc
It’s going to get crowed down in Texas and Florida. Make room for us Yankees. And save us some of those bath salts. I’m hoping I can make the front page of The Smoking Gun. “Naked Man on Bath Salts Taunts Alligator at Santeria Ceremony” or something.
Solution: Pensioners, especially the gov-agent ones who contribute NUTH’N to real productivity, take a big-ass “hair-cut”.
Have any Illinois legislators proposed amending Section 5 of the state constitution that currently prohibits retirement benefits being “diminished or impaired”? http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con13.htm
my thinking
“Have any Illinois legislators proposed amending Section 5 of the state constitution that currently prohibits retirement benefits being “diminished or impaired”?”
http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con13.htm
what,be forever known as a retired statesman instead of a current politician?
How about a “Logan’s Run” solution to the public employee pension problem?
Carousel anyone?
[/img]
[img
Sanctuary would be available to all who willingly forfeit their pensions.
Whatever version of “civil war” you envision on the horizon, the truth is that is will be hosts versus parasites.
Looking forward to it. GTKRWN!!!!
Coming to your community , city county and state any day now . After allowing the dismantling of the high paying industrial jobs that provided the tax base to fund the lavish benefits for government employees now what ? Well now you know , you never really own your property you rent it from the government . Those paid to command control and enforce are prepared to send you out in the street should you decide the orginized theft of your wealth or property is unfair . The very court structure or system allegedly there for you to have a grevince heard is dependent upon your continued fleecing regardless of your need or situation ! The just doing my job badge wearing minions can and will put you out at gun point should you not pay up . Now you know why most governments are weasling about to disarm as many of us as possible .
All the retirement plans bankrupted in the private sector is of no consequence . The government employees are determined to be paid and , well fuck you no matter what !
The comment you should have saved more is only a one way street to them .
I see no reason to make good on a promise that others failed to realistically plan to keep ! Or was the crushing of private property ownership except in the hands of a very wealthy minority and the state the plan all along ?
I hate to be a Debby downer here, but property owners in Illinois deserve it. Anyone in Illinois long enough to own property, has been there long enough to know which way the wind blows. Almost all of them eagerly voted for every person and measure that brought this about.
You think people outside Illinois deserve to get shafted for the decisions and votes of Illinois property owners? When a “shorn” Illinoysian shows up in your neighborhood, you will know he is a far left progressive, ready to do to your neighborhood what he just did to his last.
Pray the Fed finds a good excuse to keep them chained to the state and job as slaves so that they don’t move to your state next.
Illinois is just one of many domino’s calling the fact that those that are trapped by property ownership that is heading to the cellar in value is governments fault and in many cases the voters but not everyone trapped deserves the punishment . Where should we draw the line . I say at zero when the money runs out no check in the mail
Not accurate.
Like many others I was born & raised in Illinois, and have voted conservative all my life. I left Illinois after my education, spent twenty years in the U.S. Marines, got out and am stuck in the D.C swamp (well-paying but soul-crushing) until I retire in a few years. I will NEVER return to the wasteland of Illinois, where the Chicago/Springfield cabal is only concerned about sending more money in “reparations” every year to the free-cheese/EBT types so they won’t burn down the cities.
All of those dedicated gov’t professionals who gamed the pension system by increasing their last years’ incomes through overtime and other means open to them by the pension masters, ought to be waterboarded in front of the capital as a warning. The pension masters ought to be dunked like witches to see if they are innocent. The Illinois pols ought all to be sent to work camps in NK. The voters ought to be taxed to death and Illinois soon after ought to boarded up and removed from the map leaving in the space only a picture of Hussein and Michael.
how can a non-government,non legislature tax anyone????
tell me now!!!!!!!!!! otherwise it’s just a psyop.