Illinois Headed for Junk Status

[gimmethesimplelife]

I guess I just don't understand that if your so worried about healthcare, why don't you just purchase health insurance like the vast majority of people do. No one is stopping you from doing that.

I take it you didn't catch that health care was just one of the issues that my family in Austria worries about? Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

Austria hasn't the benefit of being a small, wealthy country. Unfortunately it's to cold there for me. It would be nice to visit though.

It is a beautiful country, it really is. There is one city in Austria - Linz- that was once the industrial powerhouse of Austria but now it's seen better days as manufacturing has moved elsewhere (though it's no Detroit) but the rest of the country is scenic and in my mind definitely worth a visit. Rob

[dmc]

No it's just seems to be one of your biggies. And I'd be worried about my relatives also if they lived in some of the areas of this country. But there is a big difference from some of the crime ridden inner cities and most of the rest of the country.

[dmc]

Id be very concerned if I was counting on a pension from Illinois. Pensioners may be looking at reduced amounts. I don't see the Feds bailing them out.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Id be very concerned if I was counting on a pension from Illinois. Pensioners may be looking at reduced amounts. I don't see the Feds bailing them out.

Wow.....after our many disagreements here you have posted something I agree with 100%! I agree completely with both the probability of reduced pension amounts in Illinois (imagine the blizzard of lawsuits that will produce!) and I also believe that the Feds, especially with Trump and the GOP running the show, will not be bailing them out, either. Matter of fact I am concerned about public employee pensions EVERYWHERE in the US - though I understand that Illinois is ground zero for this issue and serves as the most extreme example. My point is that Illinois is not the only state with pension funding issues, though, as I've said, it is currently in the worst shape with this. Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

We have the highest property taxes in the country. I feel lucky that my taxes are still below 10k. I think there's a lot of reasons for the current mess--the pension crisis is certainly one of them.

I've heard this too - that property tax bills in New Jersey are responsible for many more moving vans leaving NJ than arriving in NJ, and that the cost of living/assorted taxes and fees in NJ are economically strangling the state. Lots of moving vans leaving NJ I understand are headed for the South or Texas......lower taxes and fees but there is a trade off in lower services provided too, but even I can understand when faced with insane property tax bills the desire for much lower property tax bills like those I face in Arizona.....mine are slightly under $1,000 a year to give some reference. But on a state level you are pretty much on your own and spending per student here in the public schools is among the lowest in the nation on a per capita basis. Like anything else, it's a trade-off. Rob

[catherine]

I've heard this too - that property tax bills in New Jersey are responsible for many more moving vans leaving NJ than arriving in NJ, and that the cost of living/assorted taxes taxes and fees in NJ are economically strangling the state. Lots of moving vans leaving NJ I understand are headed for the South or Texas......lower taxes and fees but there is a trade off in lower services provided too, but even I can understand when faced with insane property tax bills the desire for much lower property tax bills like those I face in Arizona.....mine are slightly under $1,000 a year to give some reference. But on a state level you are pretty much on your own and spending per student here in the public schools is among the lowest in the nation on a per capita basis. Like anything else, it's a trade-off. Rob

Yes, seniors can't afford their own homes once they retire. It's another big reason why DH and I will probably move north to VT within a couple of years, although VT doesn't have a great record with property taxes either. It's got to be better than NJ, though. I met a guy who pays $32,000 in property taxes. And he's not superwealthy--he works for a pharmaceutical company. Just a corporate slob paying almost $3,000 a month just for the privilege of raising his family in NJ.

[jp1]

Id be very concerned if I was counting on a pension from Illinois. Pensioners may be looking at reduced amounts. I don't see the Feds bailing them out.

True. The federal reserve only bails out ginormous banks because capitalism. Or something.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Yes, seniors can't afford their own homes once they retire. It's another big reason why DH and I will probably move north to VT within a couple of years, although VT doesn't have a great record with property taxes either. It's got to be better than NJ, though. I met a guy who pays $32,000 in property taxes. And he's not superwealthy--he works for a pharmaceutical company. Just a corporate slob paying almost $3,000 a month just for the privilege of raising his family in NJ.

Catherine, I hope any of our regular conservative posters here don't go into immediate cardiac arrest over what I am about to post....BUT...under those conditions, $3000 a month in property taxes? I would be packing a moving van too, and I'm someone who believes in taxes and social welfare spending, as you'all must know by now. Thing is, there comes a point where taxation becomes strangulation, EVEN I GET THIS. $3000 a month in property taxes for a non wealthy person crosses that line in my book.....I could totally understand this family packing up for the flatlands around Dallas or maybe suburban Atlanta to get out of this level of taxation. Once again, even I get this.

Let me give you a comparison point if I may. I was at the public library recently reading the Wall Street Journal (which actually has interesting non-business articles) and there was a page recently showing what type of house you could buy for $1 million in a few cities, Phoenix being one of them. $1 million gets you a huge house here, in an extremely upscale area....but here's my point. The property taxes on this $1 million house in a very posh area of town? $4K ANNUALLY.....a huge difference from what you are talking about in NJ. Once again....much lower level of state services in Arizona, this is true, but who can realistically afford $3K A MONTH for property tax unless they are 1%'ers? I can see why so many people leave the Northeast, I really can........There comes a point where this can't be sustained, which is where Illinois seems to be at right now. Rob

[Yppej]

Not all the Northeast is like this Rob. I pay $2830 a year in property taxes, possibly a little less. The bill I just got is an estimate, to be trued up in January, and they estimate high as they start collecting.