Comments on: When Property Values Go Down Chicago Just Bumps Up Transfer Taxes

By: Draven

Draven — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:40:46 +0000

Hi Mark,
very nice story wht u think ?
(http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-council-transfer-tax-13mar13,1,1473088.story))

Nerja Property

By: Mark A.

Mark A. — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:55:13 +0000

Be careful what you wish for, Joe. Fresh off the feed reader:
Daley announces $20 million in city budget cuts

Here’s the thing about Chicago, though. We’re not in a mayoral election year, and the thinking is that by the time mayoral elections roll around in the Windy City, voters will have forgotten all about this. This strategy has worked for the past, I don’t know, almost 20 years. Mayor Daley: The King of Chicago.

By: Joe P

Joe P — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:58:48 +0000

Vance, don’t worry by the time elections come up again the government officials will use our tax money to buy the votes we need…hows that. lol.

But kudos to Tom and the other comments here, if I am cutting back on my spending why isn’t the government? Cut jobs, I am not talking about Police and Fire dept, nor Teachers I am talking about the administration departments, the paper pushers, the assistant to the assistant. Why do I need a school principals who make 200K a year in Palm Springs? CUT BACK!

When I worked in the software industry I was completely shocked that the a very large California School district had a very very large number of Windows 95 based computers (about a thousand) still being maintain by tax dollars, and this was in 2003! I bet they are still there.

By: Vance Shutes

Vance Shutes — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:56:16 +0000

Tom – You are SO right about this one! The economic rules which apply to our families and households seemingly don’t apply to our bureaucrats. These are the same bureaucrats who held themselves out as so brilliant upon their election. Maybe they were brilliant, as they have played the rest of us for fools. A unanimous consent only of the elected! They seem to forget that in America (uh, Chicago still is part of America, isn’t it?), government exists at the consent of the governed – meaning, US! When enough of US get fed up enough with this callous treatment, we can organize recall elections – or at worst, vote them out of office during the next regular election cycle.

By: Mark A.

Mark A. — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:12:12 +0000

My sentiments exactly. Here’s how they probably schemed it in City Hall. They figured ok, at $10.50 per $1,000 a sizeable number of home buyers may get cold feet and change their minds about buying a place in Chicago. That would be counterproductive to our plans of raising money for the CTA pension plan. Sellers otoh, have no choice but to pony up when they sell. Besides, they’re only paying $1.50 per $1,000 now and if they want to buy again in Chicago, they won’t be faced with sticker shock. What they conveniently forget, is: Those sellers paid $7.50 per $1,000 too when they bought their homes in Chicago, so in essence, they are paying $10.50 per $1,000. But, this is an elegant way to sugarcoat this tax increase and sweep it under the rug. It’s the Chicago City Hall way.