“Anyone may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes.” — Judge Learned Hand, Helvering v. Gregory In his latest attempt to improvise a solution to...
There’s one simple reason why Detroit finally filed for bankruptcy in 2013. When it came time to pay its bills, the Motor City had run out of taxpayers. Taxpayers fled Detroit for decades as the city’s tax bill kept growing and its vital government services, such as public safety, were slashed. Detroit has lost more...
The Obama administration recently announced an additional one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate for some firms. This delay is welcome news for Illinois. Illinois is in the midst of a decades-long struggle to overcome numerous challenges ranging from corruption, high unemployment, underfunded pensions and high taxes. At a time when the state...
Three years ago, in the midst of a financial crisis, the state of Wisconsin enacted a landmark labor reform package, now known as Public Act 10. Through this legislation, the Legislature made fundamental changes to its government collective-bargaining law. Wisconsin started with a public-sector labor law that paralleled Illinois’ in most respects, but PA 10...
The Statehouse was packed. Protestors crammed the building, chanting, pounding drums and marching around with signs. The historic Wisconsin state Capitol had become overrun with sleeping bags and activists. In some cases, lawmakers were harassed. Doctors diagnosed fake illnesses so protestors could be excused from work. The Senate Democratic caucus fled the state. Within days,...
The president continues to promote the recent Congressional Budget Office report that predicts that the U.S. labor force will lose the equivalent of 2.5 million more jobs as the result of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare. While he extols the benefits of having more flexibility in one’s job decisions as a result...
The president’s public relations machine is at it again. With six weeks remaining until the March 31 deadline to obtain qualified health insurance coverage or face a penalty, the Obama administration is trumpeting the success of the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as ObamaCare, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary. Enrollments have...
Why do some people support taxing higher incomes at higher percentage rates? Some politicians throughout Illinois would like you to believe it’s to generate revenue – but a recent poll suggests something different. According to a new poll conducted in the U.K., members of their center-left Labour Party were overwhelmingly supportive of taxing higher incomes...
Illinois continues to shed jobs. The state lost 3,200 nonfarm payroll jobs in December. Now, Illinois is poised to lose an additional 546 jobs from five companies in the next few months, according to the state’s January Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN report. Chicago-based Specialty Foods Group Inc., a meat wholesaler that makes...
In an 11th hour enrollment push, Gov. Pat Quinn is teaming up with the folks who bring you the satirical news site, The Onion. The idea is to create an action figure banner ad campaign to encourage young people to sign up for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as...
The Obama administration announced today another implementation delay of the calamitous law. Today, the administration announced an additional one-year delay of the employer mandate on some firms. Under the law’s employer mandate, employers with 50 or more full-time employees or full-time equivalents are required to offer “qualified and affordable” health insurance coverage to their employees....
Last week, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed an ordinance that would regulate popular ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft in Chicago. Emanuel often claims that he wants Chicago to be friendly to new businesses, innovation and technology. Unfortunately, his proposal is anything but friendly to these “transportation network” services, and would force them to...
The common refrain made against Texas by those who defend the status quo in Illinois is that the jobs being created in the Lone Star State are lower-paying and less-rewarding opportunities. But not anymore. Texas is now unquestionably besting Illinois in providing for the middle class. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2012 the inflation-adjusted...
You can’t buy Google Glass in Illinois yet, but that’s not stopping lawmakers from trying to ban it from the state’s streets and highways. Senate Bill 2632, currently pending in the Illinois General Assembly, would prohibit drivers from wearing a “mobile computing headset,” defined as a “computing device with a head mounted display that can project visual...