America's Economic Future – A Discussion By Ted Kavadas
Previously I have written of the financial difficulties of states. Of particular interest, for a variety of reasons, is the precarious situation in Illinois, of which I wrote of in the January 19 post (“Financial Situation Facing Illinois“) The Wall Street Journal had a June 9 editorial titled “Illinois Tax Firesale” which contained the following …
The state of Illinois has received much attention lately for its budgetary shortfalls and recently enacted personal and corporate income tax increases. A January 13 Wall Street Journal article titled “Illinois Braces for Tax Increases” provides a summary of the current budgetary situation. I was quite surprised to see state Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka declare …
On Sunday, “60 Minutes” did a segment on state budget problems. Both video and a transcript are available. The segment is worth viewing, especially for those who lack familiarity with the issue. While I don’t agree with some of its comments, it provides a good overview of the situation and some of the complexities involved. …
On Monday The Wall Street Journal had an Op-ed by Steve Malanga titled “How States Hide Their Budget Deficits.” Of particular interest is this excerpt: “Last week, however, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed fraud charges against New Jersey for misrepresenting its financial obligations, particularly its pension obligations, and misleading investors in its bonds. …
On Saturday The Wall Street Journal had an editorial titled “Escape from Taxation.” The link is here. In the editorial, it is mentioned that higher-income people are moving out of New Jersey as the tax rate is increased. In my article “America’s Trojan Horse” found at this link, I discussed the widely-held fallacy that debt …
I wanted to briefly comment on this recent (July 17) Wall Street Journal article that mentions how Illinois and California are working to “balance” their budgets: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124776520979752661.html The article brings to mind a term that I have used before, “quick fixes.” Sadly, some of the means by which these budgets are apparently being balanced might …