IL fiscal crisis (Kenosha, New Berlin, Franklin: sales, high income, property taxes)

[DougStark]

With your neighbor IL going through a financial meltdown, how has this been impacting WI? For example, people moving from IL to WI? Coverage about the crisis on local news?

[Drewjdeg]

WI is losing educated millennials to other states, and Chicago is probably the top destination. I actually know more people moving to Illinois than moving out; though - I can only speak to the 20-30's age range. However, I do know that a lot of African Americans are leaving Chicago for Atlanta and Dallas, and retirees leave for places like Phoenix and Tampa. There's really no mass exodus here because Wisconsin taxes are almost as high as they are in Illinois. If you wanted to move to avoid rising taxes, you wouldn't move to Wisconsin.

The local media doesn't mention it at all really. If you go to Chicago - you really wouldn't notice the state is in fiscal crisis. There's new skyscrapers being built everywhere downtown and the West Loop. Even in the suburbs you notice new factories and office buildings off of I-90; Sub Zero, Zurich America, etc. Chicago seems to be thriving, but downstate is really getting hammered.

Edit: If there's one place really benefiting from it all, it would probably be the Kenosha area. Companies want the benefit of being in the Chicago metro, while also getting free goodies from Walker. Recently Haribo, Amazon, and of course Foxconn have all built in the area.

Edit 2: Wisconsin lost 5,300 private sector jobs in May, so we're not exactly doing all that great up here either.

[guidoLaMoto]

Originally Posted by Drewjdeg

Wisconsin taxes are almost as high as they are in Illinois.

.

I'm a FIB who left IL for many reasons, taxes being one of them. While IL & WI taxes are not very different, there's a huge difference in the way they're headed: WI have been coming down; IL are high and about to skyrocket higher. IL even charge sales tax on food-- that's almost an extra 10% to feed yourself in Cook Co, for instance. Criminal.

[Drewjdeg]

Originally Posted by guidoLaMoto

I'm a FIB who left IL for many reasons, taxes being one of them. While IL & WI taxes are not very different, there's a huge difference in the way they're headed: WI have been coming down; IL are high and about to skyrocket higher. IL even charge sales tax on food-- that's almost an extra 10% to feed yourself in Cook Co, for instance. Criminal.

Wisconsin has high income and property taxes but low sales taxes. Illinois has even higher income and property taxes - and high sales taxes. While Wisconsin looks good compared to Illinois, its definitely not a bargain.

[InnovativeAmerican]

Originally Posted by Drewjdeg

WI is losing educated millennials to other states, and Chicago is probably the top destination. I actually know more people moving to Illinois than moving out; though - I can only speak to the 20-30's age range. However, I do know that a lot of African Americans are leaving Chicago for Atlanta and Dallas, and retirees leave for places like Phoenix and Tampa. There's really no mass exodus here because Wisconsin taxes are almost as high as they are in Illinois. If you wanted to move to avoid rising taxes, you wouldn't move to Wisconsin.

The local media doesn't mention it at all really. If you go to Chicago - you really wouldn't notice the state is in fiscal crisis. There's new skyscrapers being built everywhere downtown and the West Loop. Even in the suburbs you notice new factories and office buildings off of I-90; Sub Zero, Zurich America, etc. Chicago seems to be thriving, but downstate is really getting hammered.

Edit: If there's one place really benefiting from it all, it would probably be the Kenosha area. Companies want the benefit of being in the Chicago metro, while also getting free goodies from Walker. Recently Haribo, Amazon, and of course Foxconn have all built in the area.

Edit 2: Wisconsin lost 5,300 private sector jobs in May, so we're not exactly doing all that great up here either.

I agree. I think Chicago is in better shape than Wisconsin as a whole. Scott Walker won't admit that Wisconsin is trailing neighboring Minnesota to the west and Chicago because he's desperate to hold onto his political power. Hopefully Wisconsinites will make Wisconsin great again and vote blue!

[guidoLaMoto]

Originally Posted by InnovativeAmerican

Hopefully Wisconsinites will make Wisconsin great again and vote blue!

WI works remarkably well compared to IL.


I saw a post elsewhere showing that famous picture of flattened Nagasaki in 1945 followed by a picture of present day Nagasaki-- vibrant night life, modern high rises, beautiful trees & gardens. Then it showed a photo of Detroit 1945 -vibrant, thriving city followed by a photo of modern Detroit-- empty buildings, empty lots, dirty.


Apparently it's better for a city to get annihilated by an atom bomb than to vote Dem for 70 straight yrs.


IL is in the fix it's in because one county with a very large population votes exclusively (90%+) Dem. Six yrs ago, Quinn (D) was elected governor and carried only one county (Cook) out of IL's 104 counties. Dems by virtue of large support from the unions have controlled the Legislature there for over 50 yrs and pass the laws that give the gov unions such obscenely favorable deals. If that was the private sector such deals would be prosecuted under the racketeering laws.




Walker et al. have made good headway towards reversing that trend here in WI.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by guidoLaMoto

WI works remarkably well compared to IL.


I saw a post elsewhere showing that famous picture of flattened Nagasaki in 1945 followed by a picture of present day Nagasaki-- vibrant night life, modern high rises, beautiful trees & gardens. Then it showed a photo of Detroit 1945 -vibrant, thriving city followed by a photo of modern Detroit-- empty buildings, empty lots, dirty.


Apparently it's better for a city to get annihilated by an atom bomb than to vote Dem for 70 straight yrs.


IL is in the fix it's in because one county with a very large population votes exclusively (90%+) Dem. Six yrs ago, Quinn (D) was elected governor and carried only one county (Cook) out of IL's 104 counties. Dems by virtue of large support from the unions have controlled the Legislature there for over 50 yrs and pass the laws that give the gov unions such obscenely favorable deals. If that was the private sector such deals would be prosecuted under the racketeering laws.




Walker et al. have made good headway towards reversing that trend here in WI.

Walker hasn't led to reducing the decline facing the younger populations leaving the state at a fast rate, nor have the populace fully realized the declines that the UW system has faced under Walker's tenure. Reputations take many years to establish, but short-sighted decisions by an ego hungry governor generally don't favor long-range strategic thinking by positioning the state in a more favorable position to capture growth in emerging economic sectors.

[Empidonax]

Originally Posted by guidoLaMoto

WI works remarkably well compared to IL.


I saw a post elsewhere showing that famous picture of flattened Nagasaki in 1945 followed by a picture of present day Nagasaki-- vibrant night life, modern high rises, beautiful trees & gardens. Then it showed a photo of Detroit 1945 -vibrant, thriving city followed by a photo of modern Detroit-- empty buildings, empty lots, dirty.


Apparently it's better for a city to get annihilated by an atom bomb than to vote Dem for 70 straight yrs.

The United States aggressively helped to rebuild Nagasaki and poured lots of money into the effort; not so much with Detroit. Interesting, eh?

IL is in the fix it's in because one county with a very large population votes exclusively (90%+) Dem. Six yrs ago, Quinn (D) was elected governor and carried only one county (Cook) out of IL's 104 counties. Dems by virtue of large support from the unions have controlled the Legislature there for over 50 yrs and pass the laws that give the gov unions such obscenely favorable deals. If that was the private sector such deals would be prosecuted under the racketeering laws.

It also helped that a lot of individual people in Chicagoland actually support liberal values: individual freedoms, collective safety net, etc. Chicagoland isn't Democratic simply or primarily because of machine politics.

Walker et al. have made good headway towards reversing that trend here in WI.

Not really. Taxes are still high. The job situation is still mediocre. The GOP controls both legislative chambers and the governorship, but things are mostly still basically the same. Act 10 was a big shift, but everything else is pretty much the same or worse.

[DougStark]

U

Originally Posted by InnovativeAmerican

I agree. I think Chicago is in better shape than Wisconsin as a whole. Scott Walker won't admit that Wisconsin is trailing neighboring Minnesota to the west and Chicago because he's desperate to hold onto his political power. Hopefully Wisconsinites will make Wisconsin great again and vote blue!

Please tell me you are joking: in what way is Chicagoland in better shape than WI? Don't you know the metro population is actually decreasing? I think the only major metro to do so.

Not only that, but Chicago city property taxes may have to be quadrupled in the future to handle the billions of pension debt. I guess you don't read much.

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by DougStark

U

Please tell me you are joking: in what way is Chicagoland in better shape than WI? Don't you know the metro population is actually decreasing? I think the only major metro to do so.

Not only that, but Chicago city property taxes may have to be quadrupled in the future to handle the billions of pension debt. I guess you don't read much.

There is not a economist in American that thinks Chicago or IL is in better shape than Wisconsin's economy. I am guessing not to many people in the Wisconsin forum read the small business times, the business journal or even Industry Today or Manufacturing.net much less any other financial/industry news source.



Wisconsin is at statistical full employment, anyone who wants a job has one, there is a massive worker shortage. All you need to do is drive around the New Berlin, Franklin, Meno Falls, Germantown industrial parks and see all the help wanted signs. There have been countless jobs and plants moving across the border from IL into Wisconsin for favorable tax treatment or "countless give-a-ways" as one other poster mentioned.



Regulation is another job killer and not always measured easily, this another way IL makes it hard for business to succeed. Time to get things passed government regulation forces businesses to look elsewhere.


"wetlands" might be the biggest boogeyman to discourage businesses from expanding even when the swamp is on their own land even in Walker's admin the dnr won't sign off on filling in any land that is remotely swampy forcing then said business to move since they are not allowed to expand even on their own land.