Free Republic

High property taxes, the state tax on gasoline and Gov. J.B. Pritzker's handling of COVID-19 are all factors in the state's lack of job growth, according to an analyst. A report by Wirepoints looks at Illinois' overall economic performance since Pritzker took office in 2019. The report shows 70,000 fewer jobs in that time frame and that its real GDP growth was 3.2% from 2019 to 2022, which ranked 10th worse in the country. Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski told The Center Square that many factors have contributed to the lack of growth in jobs. "We will never have the most...

Hollywood producer Ryan Kavanaugh is fleeing Los Angeles, California, amid rising crime, homelessness, and higher taxes. Flight from the Democrat-run city is trending as “a growing chorus of Hollywood executives are talking about leaving the city,” one entertainment industry insider told The Wrap. Ryan Kavanaugh, American film financier and founder and CEO of the video-sharing app Triller — who grew up in Los Angeles and has called it home for 47 years — is now getting ready to pick up and move his family and business headquarters to Florida. Kavanaugh — who’s backed over 200 films, including Limitless, Hancock, Mamma...

If we don’t stop our runaway national debt, it will require much higher taxes and dramatic cuts in spending.Last September, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted the federal debt wouldn’t hit $29 trillion until 2028. Just short of a year later, the national debt stands at $28.6 trillion and is set to surpass $29 trillion within weeks.Since Congress hasn’t yet enacted all its new spending proposals, the CBO debt estimates don’t yet include them. The $1.2 trillion “infrastructure” bill still has to pass the House, and a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill will add to the current budget. The proposed...

Thanks in large part to the Trump-GOP tax reform law passed in December 2017, residents of high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, and California are leaving in high numbers — and the exodus is only just beginning, say experts. “It took a few months for taxpayers to realize the dollar implications – until they actually filed their tax returns this year,” Alan Goldenberg, a principal at Friedman LLP, told Fox Business. “It quantified the impact of the loss of the SALT deduction when people saw it in front of their eyes on their tax return.”

Just out: The USA has the absolute legal right to have apprehended illegal immigrants transferred to Sanctuary Cities. We hereby demand that they be taken care of at the highest level, especially by the State of California, which is well known or its poor management & high taxes!

Connecticut, home to hedge fund billionaires alongside cities mired in poverty, is racing against the clock to pass a budget or face further spending cuts to education and municipal aid across the state. Nearly two months without a budget, Connecticut is getting crushed by a burdensome debt load that has squeezed spending and amplified legislative discord. State lawmakers must agree on a biennial budget soon or else Governor Dannel Malloy’s executive order to slash state aid to municipalities and eliminate school funding for some districts will go into effect in October. The state faces a $3.5 billion deficit over the...

(CNN)—Hawaii is a place many go to kick back, relax and enjoy the good life. But for others, it's a land of struggle. That's why its governor on Friday signed an emergency proclamation to tackle homelessness in the state, saying the measure will help turn around the lives of young and old. "Homelessness remains a serious issue in every county throughout the state," Gov. David Ige said in a press release.Hawaii has an estimated 7,620 homeless people, said the governor's spokeswoman Cindy McMillan, citing a 2015 statewide count. This may not seem like much compared with other places -- to...

Danes and Swedes are the highest taxed people in Europe, according to research published on Monday (29 April). Denmark and Sweden claim tax revenues accounting for 47.7 percent of economic output and 44.5 percent respectively. The two countries also have the highest top rates of income tax at 55.6 and 56.5 percent respectively. Meanwhile, citizens in Lithuania, Bulgaria and Latvia are the least taxed, with governments taking between 26 percent and 28 percent. Tax rates have risen across the board, particularly among the four EU bailout countries (Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus), as cash-strapped governments bid to balance budgets against...

In kicking the proverbial can down the road, Congressional leaders acquiesced to the demand that wealthier Americans pay higher taxes. The higher taxes came in the form of a higher maximum tax rate on those individuals making more than $400,000 and the loss of the favorable tax treatment accorded dividend and capital gains income. Such a strategy pandered to the majority of Americans who don’t believe they are “rich,” but fall into the great “middle class” which the politicians claimed they were protecting. In the meantime, those very politicians have deferred dealing with the real issue that is out of...

We wish it weren't so. But the evidence keeps coming in that other states, such as Texas and its Sun Belt neighbors, are doing something right in promoting business and jobs creation, and California is doing something terribly wrong. The U.S. Census Bureau just released estimates of the top 10 fastest-growing metropolitan areas, by population, from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011. Not one was in California. The fastest-growing was Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash., which grew 4.3 percent during the 15-month period. It enjoys a diverse economy and Washington's lack of a state income tax. Second-fastest growing was Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos,...

Thanks to Illinois governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois legislature Illinois Loses Most Jobs in the Nation. In a trend that continues to worsen, more Illinoisans found themselves unemployed in the month of July. Illinois lost more jobs during the month of July than any other state in the nation. ... When it comes to putting people back to work, Illinois is going backwards. Since January, Illinois has dropped 89,000 people from its employment rolls. A combination of high taxes, overspending and red tape do nothing but chase away job creators and leave too many citizens without jobs. Springfield needs...

In 1967, five years after California became the most populous state, novelist Wallace Stegner said that California - energetic, innovative, hedonistic - was America, "only more so." Today, this state's budget crisis is like the nation's, only more so. Bob Dutton is an island of calm in the eye of the storm - which should agitate Gov. Jerry Brown. Dutton came to California from Nebraska at age 19 in 1969 and now is the leader of Republicans in the state Senate. He contentedly says that his caucus is "almost like a Chamber of Commerce board of directors." Its members are...

For nearly 18 months, I woke up at 4 a.m. with my all-too-alert toddler son. Three hours later, when my Swedish wife left for the day, I would set out a second breakfast and then dress the boy and his 4-year-old sister and walk them to her state-subsidized preschool. Then my boy and I would go build sand castles in one of five nearby neighborhood parks ... I am not unemployed, and I am not a stay-at-home dad. I've got a "real" job; I just haven't gone to the office since last December. In total, I've spent 18 of the...

Hoping to lift sagging confidence in President Barack Obama's economic leadership, the White House will make the case on Wednesday that his policies are creating jobs and spurring private investment. A report to be unveiled at 11 a.m. EDT will estimate that Obama's $862 billion economic stimulus package, which passed last year, has saved or created 3 million jobs and is on track to meet its goal of 3.5 million jobs by the end of this year. The analysis from the White House Council of Economic Advisers will say that government funding of clean energy, economic development, construction projects and...

New York State is famous for so many things; Niagara Falls, The Empire State Building, Erie Canal and Montauk Point just to name a few. But for many of us who live in the Empire State the most famous part of our home State is the oppressive tax burden. A new study shows that from 2000 to 2008, New York experienced the nation's largest loss of residents to other states—a net domestic migration outflow of over 1.5 million, or 8 percent of its population at the start of the decade. Households moving out of New York State had average incomes...

HealthCare Reform Will Ruin Your Insurance And Your Job The healthcare reform that is being pushed by the President and Democrats in Congress is a terrible bill. It's purpose is very clearly designed to end private insurance and move everyone in the country towards the public option, socializing healthcare in effect, while pretending that choice is still an option. It would be one thing if Obama and Reid and Pelosi came out and said they liked socialist healthcare, and thought the country should move in that direction. If they admitted the expense, and the likely destruction of private insurance, you...

Sweden's high tax regime is counterproductive: rather than focusing on the improvement of core services, it has led to a bloated bureaucracy and an inefficient welfare state... Sweden is a nation with extraordinarily high tax rates. The average worker not only pays 30 percent of income in visible taxes, but also close to 30 percent in hidden taxes... Some level of taxation is of course required to fund the public sector. At the same time, a high level of taxation does not necessarily translate into an equally high level of welfare: - High taxes do not always mean high tax...

California voters Tuesday put the truth to the lie that the tax rebellion has come to an end. Almost two-thirds of the electorate (65.4 percent) cast ballots against Proposition 1A, a measure which would have increased taxes in the cash-strapped "Golden State" by $16 billion. Voters in the state that, in 1978, gave birth to the modern tax revolt proved once again that the political pundits who the Republicans need to give up their anti-tax stance in favor of a platform that acknowledges the need for expanded government services that appeal to constituencies like those that shop at "big box"...

6,796.99 Down -265.94 -3.77%

Biggest brain drain from UK in 50 years By Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor Last Updated: 2:08am GMT 21/02/2008 Britain is experiencing the worst "brain drain" of any country as highly qualified professionals settle abroad, an authoritative international study showed yesterday. Record numbers of Britons are leaving - many of them doctors, teachers and engineers - in the biggest exodus for almost 50 years. Over a quarter of qualified professionals who have moved abroad had health or education qualifications There are now 3.247 million British-born people living abroad, of whom more than 1.1 million are highly-skilled university graduates, say the...