# Illinois Debt/Budget Crisis **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 26, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929 "2017-06-26T18:15:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929/81 "2017-07-05T19:16:32Z")
I’m a Chicagoan, live in the city. I don’t want to pay higher taxes but I will. I’d much prefer my taxes to be income taxes rather than regressive sales taxes. I want this pension mess fixed and I don’t care who is to blame. I’d consider myself to be in the educated and skilled demographic. I really don’t think of taxes as a reason to leave the state. Every place has taxes, and they’re going to get their money. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929/82 "2017-07-05T19:28:51Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’m a Chicagoan, live in the city. I don’t want to pay higher taxes but I will. I’d much prefer my taxes to be income taxes rather than regressive sales taxes. I want this pension mess fixed and I don’t care who is to blame. > > I’d consider myself to be in the educated and skilled demographic. I really don’t think of taxes as a reason to leave the state. Every place has taxes, and they’re going to get their money. As am I, and agreed. ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929/83 "2017-07-05T19:51:06Z")
Has the pension mess been addressed with this tax increase ? If not the death spiral continues. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929/84 "2017-07-05T19:54:03Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > Has the pension mess been addressed with this tax increase ? If not the death spiral continues. Do you have any suggestions to offer? Or is this just more slagging on Illinois? Because that’s hardly constructive. Also, do you know that the tax rate was 5% in 2015, and the new rate just passed is 4.95%? OMG the horror, we are paying less than we were 2 years ago. Lets all move :rolleyes::smack: ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929/85 "2017-07-05T19:55:55Z")
As a middle class Illinois resident, I would rather see the Assembly try to raise some revenue to stabilize the problem (with some cuts) than watch our credit rating crumble completely and try to fix it with draconian cuts to health, education, infrastructure, etc. THAT would make me leave the state far faster than taxes going up 1.2% (or a 32% increase, if you wish to phrase it that way). ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929/86 "2017-07-05T20:01:21Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > As a middle class Illinois resident, I would rather see the Assembly try to raise some revenue to stabilize the problem (with some cuts) than watch our credit rating crumble completely and try to fix it with draconian cuts to health, education, infrastructure, etc. THAT would make me leave the state far faster than taxes going up 1.2% (or a 32% increase, if you wish to phrase it that way). Yes, as would I. I’m fine with paying a lower Illinois tax rate than I had in 2015. I was just fine that year, so paying less from now on shouldn’t be much of a problem. The reduced tax rate of 3.75% was only in effect for the last 2 years, so I’m not sure what all of the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments is about to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929/87 "2017-07-06T04:30:54Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > Has the pension mess been addressed with this tax increase ? If not the death spiral continues. Well, the tax increase is part of a budget package that the governor had vetoed. The Senate overrode the veto and the House will supposedly vote tomorrow. I don’t think pension reform is directly addressed but that should probably be handled separately anyway due to the state constitutional concerns. Right now, the immediate priority is passing a budget. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929/88 "2017-07-06T06:06:29Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > Everybody complains about the fiscal mess that Illinois is in, but nobody wants to chip in and be part of the solution. There’s no solution to this kind of debt problem that does not involve anyone paying one more cent. > > Why don’t you suggest another solution then? Bitching about a problem without offering any better answer is kind of pointless and a big part of why we are in the situation we are. It’s easy to complain, but not so easy to come up with a better solution. > > Also, we’ve been voting the bastards out every election, but then different bastards show up and so it goes. That’s bullshit to say bitching about it is pointless. This didn’t happen overnight. Bitching about it is exactly what should have been done during the decades of overspending. The solution was and will always be to spend less than the revenue you take in. We’ve been bitching about the Federal deficit for years. One president even said it was unpatriotic to rack up $4 trillion in debt and then when on to double that figure because politicians engage in pork-barrel spending as a means of compromise. NOT bitching about this enough got us into this mess. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929/89 "2017-07-06T13:45:33Z")
I take it you aren’t from Illinois? Bitching has been going on about the state of affairs here for as long as I remember. It actually solves nothing, but if it makes you feel better to rhetorically beat up on Illinois then knock yourself out I guess, but don’t delude yourself into thinking that its going to accomplish anything by itself. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929/90 "2017-07-06T21:44:03Z")
The House just voted to over ride Rauner’s veto, giving Illinois its first budget in three years. > ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929/91 "2017-07-06T22:54:49Z")
Yay! The problem is solved! Now they can go back to being corrupt assholes until the next crisis, which will also be ‘solved’ with another tax hike. Repeat until fail. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929/92 "2017-07-07T00:15:03Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > I take it you aren’t from Illinois? > > Bitching has been going on about the state of affairs here for as long as I remember. > > It actually solves nothing, but if it makes you feel better to rhetorically beat up on Illinois then knock yourself out I guess, but don’t delude yourself into thinking that its going to accomplish anything by itself. What accomplishes nothing is to continue to spend more than you take in. Since I’m not from Illinois it would be up to those who live there to vote in people who can balance a budget. If you’re bitching at the same people and nothing happens then… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-debt-budget-crisis/789929.md?page=4)