Would a declining population create a stronger Chicago? (Woodlawn: tax, living)

[OKParker]

Originally Posted by Curly Q. Bobalink

People tend to either move where they can get the best "deal" (housing per dollar, services per dollar, desirable work / wages, etc.), or where they have family or history, or believe they can attain some imagined "standard of living" (near the arts, beautiful scenery, entertainment options, good health care, areas with low crime, etc.). The Chicago area has some things that make it a very desirable place to live. It also has some serious faults. Unless it can keep the former and minimize the latter going forward, the recent trends will continue. I'd say that its largest detriments currently are the obscene property taxes, the (mostly perceived) high crime rate (very bad in some neighborhoods, not bad at all in most), and the huge debt that has the potential to drive ever-higher taxes, which may or may not restrict further economic growth.

"Climate change", while real, is not going to be driving immigration for many years. If it makes the Great Lakes region a more desirable place to live, there are a whole lot of other cities located on them that may or may not offer a better "deal" than Chicago by the time the effects take hold.

I agree with this post. I wish we could quantify the people that move/stay/come for certain reasons, but I would bet that family is by far the main reason people are here.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by Chicago South Sider

I think the op grew up in the Jim Crow era. He was probably fantasizing about the good old days when he made this post.

No doubt you are right. Can we get him banned?

[Master Jay]

edsg25, LONG TIME NO SEE! An early Happy New Year to you! May 2020 be great!

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

Originally Posted by edsg25

No doubt you are right. Can we get him banned?

Ed, I would hope you would rethink this stance. Agreeing with the right of someone to have free speech - unless of course that speech disagrees with your beliefs - is extremely short-sighted. Feel free to put forth arguments that make an idiot out of someone who you disagree with, and I have no doubt that you have the intellectual capacity to do so - but I have come to think of you as someone who would not burn books, or ban speech, even if the speaker is ignorant. Along with Master Jay, I hope you have a happy 2020.

Edit: So, I went back to see exactly who the OP was after hitting "send", and it was you, Ed! Fooled again, the sarcasm in your last post was lost on me. Apologies for thinking you could be a "book-burner" - if anything, the worst I could accuse you of is being the head of Chicago's Chamber of Commerce, LOL. Still wishing you a great 2020.

[Master Jay]

Curly Q. Bobalink, AND a Happy New Year to you, Sir.

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by edsg25

No doubt you are right. Can we get him banned?

I knew you would agree with me.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Curly Q. Bobalink, AND a Happy New Year to you, Sir.

blessings to you and Curly

(and how could I forget: of course Chicago South Side as well)

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by Curly Q. Bobalink

Ed, I would hope you would rethink this stance. Agreeing with the right of someone to have free speech - unless of course that speech disagrees with your beliefs - is extremely short-sighted. Feel free to put forth arguments that make an idiot out of someone who you disagree with, and I have no doubt that you have the intellectual capacity to do so - but I have come to think of you as someone who would not burn books, or ban speech, even if the speaker is ignorant. Along with Master Jay, I hope you have a happy 2020.

Edit: So, I went back to see exactly who the OP was after hitting "send", and it was you, Ed! Fooled again, the sarcasm in your last post was lost on me. Apologies for thinking you could be a "book-burner" - if anything, the worst I could accuse you of is being the head of Chicago's Chamber of Commerce, LOL. Still wishing you a great 2020.

boy, did you get me wrong: I set ablaze my hard bound copy of 2019 Chicago Bears: Preview of a Super Bowl Winning Season in the parking lot due south of Soldier Field, directly north of the Lucas Museum (burned my copy of Guide to Chicago's Lucas Museum from the Friends of the Lucas Museum as well).

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by edsg25

(and how could I forget: of course Chicago South Side as well)

Happy New Year to you too, edsg25.

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

To quote Mr. Dickens:

"God Bless Us, Everyone!"

I'm still laughing at myself, I just couldn't believe what I was reading (out of character for Ed), and shot back, a clear case of: "Ready, Fire, Aim".

God knows I've been hard on Chicago, but it's because of the Cook County politicians of the last forty years - as everyone who has been paying attention knows, they put a "poison pill" into the constitution that effectively killed the state. They set up great benefits for public service workers, but then deferred the taxes it would take to pay for them, and allowed the debt to balloon to almost unmanageable levels. They did so because raising the taxes at the time would have gotten them thrown out of office. So, they simply put us into hock to keep their power - great for them, horrible for the rest of us. I'm not advocating for stiffing the workers who have earned their benefits (not that it's even an option, I'm aware the state S.C. ruled on that already). I'm not even against giving workers an above-average pension - but the benefits should have been paid for as they were accrued, in order to give residents (voters) the chance to see what they were paying for. It was simply an underhanded trick, and I resent paying the high taxes it is going to take to balance the budget at this point. Even Pritzker's graduated tax proposal is half-hearted, setting brackets that go against the whole idea of a progressive system - it allows those with six-figure pensions to keep paying zero, caps the upper brackets at too low a rate, doesn't give low-income workers a break, and is too small to do what needs to be done at this point. My last rant for 2019! One of my resolutions for the New Year is to not let the idiot politicians to bother me (as much) going forward, life is too short. Happy New Year, all.