Vermilion Voice

Other Categories => Economy => Topic started by: buzorro on January 20, 2010, 09:10:06 pm



Title: The state of the State
Post by: buzorro on January 20, 2010, 09:10:06 pm
Illinois enters a state of insolvency

..."We would like all the stakeholders of Illinois to recognize how close the state is to bankruptcy or insolvency," says Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a fiscal watchdog in Chicago.

"Bankruptcy is the reality that looms out there," Republican gubernatorial candidate Andrew McKenna Jr. says...

"I would describe bankruptcy as the inability to pay one's bills," says Jim Nowlan, senior fellow at the University of Illinois' Institute of Government and Public Affairs. "We're close to de facto bankruptcy, if not de jure bankruptcy."

Legal experts say the protections of the federal bankruptcy code are available to cities and counties but not states...

While California has an even bigger budget hole to fill, Illinois ranks dead last among the states in terms of negative net worth compared with total expenditures...

In addition to its day-to-day budget, Illinois faces rising pension expenses in coming years. Lawmakers have skimped on required contributions to employee pension funds and even borrowed to make those smaller payments. Unfunded liabilities and pension debt are projected to reach $95 billion by June 30. The state must contribute $5.4 billion to the pension funds next year, and more than $10 billion a year in the future...

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?articleId=32910&seenIt=1

Ahhh....'skimped on required contributions to employee pension funds'...where have I heard that before?

Oh, yeah...

Higher taxes to come... And as gasoline prices move toward $3/gal, we haven't really been hit hard by the 'hidden tax,' called 'inflation,'  which will surely come the moment the private owners of the Federal Reserve decide to raise interest rates.

Hold on to your wallets, and stock up on the beans & bullets...


Title: Re: The state of the State
Post by: Terry on January 21, 2010, 08:32:23 am
Unfortunately, your statement is spot on the money.  The state has two choices; cut spending or increase taxes.  I think we all know which one they will choose.  But, what these state politicians do not understand is that you can not tax your way to prosperity.  Those states that have been fiscally conservative over the years will be the big winners in the future.


Title: Re: The state of the State
Post by: buzorro on February 17, 2010, 09:50:03 pm
Educators huddle on state funding freeze
BY MIKE HELENTHAL
Commercial-News

DANVILLE — County education leaders are bracing for the worst in the face of Illinois’ staggering $13 billion budget deficit and a growing belief that state schools will be left high and dry when the bill comes due.

Vermilion County Regional Superintendent of Schools Mike Metzen said school administrators here had been meeting regularly to discuss state funding difficulties and share ideas of how to further stretch local school resources...

State Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, said he fears the state will not be able to live up to a long list of obligations. He cited as proof the state’s dependence on federal stimulus money to prop up ongoing spending obligations and a recent, drastic reduction in Illinois’ bond rating.

“I don’t think the public has fully grasped the magnitude,” he said. “Our debts are in the billions of dollars. It’s the point where it’s critical.”

Meanwhile, state government is all but shut down as both parties put their sights on the November elections and the bills keep piling up.

Black warns if a solution that includes massive cuts to wasteful spending isn’t found soon, needed social services and education stand a good chance of facing equally massive cuts with the next state budget...

http://www.commercial-news.com/local/local_story_048015340.html

Plenty of money to invade defenseless, sovereign nations though...


Title: Re: The state of the State
Post by: buzorro on February 17, 2010, 10:01:48 pm
Illinois Senate holds private meeting at statehouse

...A highly unusual closed-door meeting of the state Senate lasted about an hour and a half today, and participants said many of the chamber's 59 Democrats and Republicans attended to hear a presentation on budgeting and the economy from national experts...

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/02/illinois-senate-meets-in-secret-today.html

Things are gonna get ugly...

Stock up on your beans and bullets...


Title: Does being in last place make us #1?
Post by: buzorro on February 18, 2010, 01:52:22 pm
Illinois ranks dead last in funding pensions

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/blogs/hinz.pl?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a1daca073-2eab-468e-9f19-ec177090a35cPost%3a3f60b4d3-bd1d-475d-9008-8d9f65de6806&plckCommentSortOrder=TimeStampAscending&sid=sitelife.chicagobusiness.com

Thank a union worker...


Title: Re: The state of the State
Post by: buzorro on February 20, 2010, 10:32:59 pm
Attention County Board Chairman McMahon, Regional Superintendent of Schools Metzen, and ALL city Mayors!!!

It's official!  We are in an economic depression no matter how you look at, no matter what our controlled media tells us, no matter what those revered 'economist experts' tell us!  And especially what the Wall Street numbers are.  Wall Street is at war with Main Street.  There will be no 'recovery' and there can be no 'recovery without job creation, period.  Alleged 'economic experts' see a lessening of 'official numbers of recently unemployed' as a sign that the economy is recovering.  The only entity offering job opportunities are the 'temp' agencies.

It's good to have hope and have a 'positive outlook,' but it's not good to lose touch with reality.

*****

Bad economies in states to worsen: governors

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The already gloomy conditions of states' economies are set to worsen, according to preliminary survey findings from the National Governors Association released on Saturday.

"The situation is fairly poor for a lot of states around the country. In fact, most states," Vermont Governor Jim Douglas, who is chairman of the association, said at a press conference at its annual meeting.

"What we're finding out from a fiscal standpoint is that the worst is yet to come," Douglas said...

In a survey conducted last week of 45 of the 50 states, the group found that states have $18.8 billion of budget gaps yet to be closed in fiscal 2010. This comes after they have already imposed measures to eliminate budget imbalances totaling $87 billion in the fiscal year, which for most started last summer.

In the budgets they are drafting for fiscal 2011, states foresee shortfalls of $53.6 billion and for fiscal 2012 $61.6 billion.

(Note: I'm not sure how they arrived at the '$18.8 billion of budget gaps' figure, but what is significant is that this number increases three-fold in 2011 and almost quadruples in 2012)

"Economists have declared the national recession over. But for those who are still unemployed, for those who have lost their homes, it's clear that as a nation we have a long way to go," said Douglas, who added that states' revenues have plummeted for four quarters in a row...

The $787 billion stimulus plan the U.S. Congress passed a year ago included the largest transfer of money from the federal government to states in the nation's history. But for many states, most of its funding will run out by December...

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61J26V20100220

*****

Keep in mind that all of this stimulus money is 'borrowed.'  Barky just okayed Congress's request to raise the debt limit to OVER $14,000,000,000,000!  This is madness.  Do you realize how many generations it would take to pay this off...with interest?  The only conceivable way to do that is to dramatically rreduce the value of the US Dollar.  If $100 was suddenly only worth $1, then the debt would 'only be' $1,400,000,000 with interest.  Of course anything imported would cost 100 times as much, but....jeez!

Jobs!  People have to have jobs if they are going to have to pay taxes,...duh.  So where are the needed jobs going to come from?  Where?  We used to be the world's largest exporter, we used to have jobs out of the wazoo.  Now we only export armaments and some grain.  We don't make TV's, radios, clothes, etc. anymore.  What are all of those high school dropouts going to do to make money legally?  Here's a better question: What are all of our college graduates going to do for careers?  Work for foreign firms?

Will Congress fix Social Security by raising the retirement age to 90?  Will they make us trade our meager 401k money for worthless Treasury Bonds?

Let's see where we're at in, say...oh...2012.


Title: Re: The state of the State
Post by: DejaVu on February 21, 2010, 11:33:47 am

Jobs!  People have to have jobs if they are going to have to pay taxes,...duh.  So where are the needed jobs going to come from?  Where?  We used to be the world's largest exporter, we used to have jobs out of the wazoo.  Now we only export armaments and some grain.  We don't make TV's, radios, clothes, etc. anymore.  What are all of those high school dropouts going to do to make money legally?  Here's a better question: What are all of our college graduates going to do for careers?  Work for foreign firms?

First of all you need to take a deep breath and let it out s-l-o-w-l-y.

There has to be businesses in order to hire people....right? We the people have to start taking some responsibility too ya know. We don't support the little guy...people that are in business are having a hard time right now....just about the only place people shop these days are the big corporate stores. Yes I know, it's cheaper because they import crap from China. Quit buying plastic! Or at least try. It would be really hard but if everyone in the country did that we'd be out of this depression in no time...but people won't complain they won't demand quality or American made. So who's to blame?

The really big thing is, there are people wanting to go into business for themselves but they can't because the big banks won't make the cash available and this is after the taxpayers bailed them out. Obama has actually come out and stated this several times now. It's a fact and something needs to be done about about. Here check this out. http://www.durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releaseId=322143 We need to find out what we can do to make sure this legislation gets passed. It isn't the administration that's holding recovery back.

Quote
It's good to have hope and have a 'positive outlook,' but it's not good to lose touch with reality.

Ok....and it does no good to point the finger in the wrong direction either. I'm just say'n.  ;D











Title: Re: The state of the State
Post by: Mr. Buzorro on February 21, 2010, 02:36:17 pm
Ok....and it does no good to point the finger in the wrong direction either. I'm just say'n.  ;D

Um...who was buzz pointing his finger at?  Political leaders who wouldn't think of repealing NAFTA, etc.?  That's how I read his post.

I would agree that Americans buying products not made in the USofA bear a share of the responsibility, but giving tax breaks to 'help' US companies to move their jobs outside of our borders is a little much.  Would you agree?

Perhaps you could share some of your 'happy pills' with him...