It's a huge chunk. It's like $600 for a middle class family.

5% isn't a lot, but they get nothing for their buck in Illinois.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

I hear ya....I just starting reading a book The Struggle to Limit Government: A Modern Political History, by John Samples. A very good book so far.

Our sales tax rate in ATL is 7%, plus state income tax rate of 6%. You'll at least get to deduct the additional income taxes off your federal return.

No income tax here in TX but the property tax in Tarrant county is close to 3%.

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Sent from an agnostic abacus

2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

It will be offset by the 2% reduction in FICA

I dunno. Are there states around now w/o major budget woes? This stuff can't go on much longer. CA has huge deficits and the fed. govt. doesn't have deep pockets to bail anyone out.

Some kind of rude awakening is headed our way, I have a feeling. Best cut defense spending by half now. And ag. subsidies. Then go after education and the like.

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Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

These states need to cut all the programs they inflated over the last 10 years.

To me it sounds like your eating ramen once a week, and paying your bills. Then you get a credit card, start eating out every night at. Then, now that the credit card is maxed out instead of going back to eating ramen, they are going to just stop paying the mortgage?

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Too many very, very wealthy people will be affected by cutting defence spending or eliminating agriculture subsidies. That leaves education and the like. They can send their kids to private schools, and with any luck, you'll help pay the bill.

Cool your state figured out how to steel more from you!

Looks like you guys didn't vote stupid enough politicians in. Next time go for bigger morons so they can't get anything done.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Cool.

They did elect new reps - they hadn't taken office yet.....these was the lame ducks on their way out!

Got that right Carl.

With appreciation to Joel Klein, Bernie Madoff delivered 8% returns year in and year out. He's in jail.
Public employee and teachers retirement funds assume rates of return north of 5%. (then govts. at all levels fail to match even those understated liabilities).

Governments have over-promised and under-funded benefits to all segments of society to-a-fare the well. The balloon is getting-bigger and bigger. And those asked to pay aren't going to feel particularly obliged to do so. Sooo, you all moan about societal "friction." My guess fwiw: you ain't seen nuthin yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJmBPCYt5LY

You guys in your 20's and 30's are destined to lived in a much different world than guys like cmac and me. I doubt it'll be as good overall as the half-century we have lived in.

Annie get your gun.

I wish I was in my 20s again, the next 20-30 years are going to have tons of opportunities for anyone who's paying attention. The entire asian continent is finally starting to do something, there will be huge opportunities with about 3 billion new customers in the industrialized world. All you have to do is figure out how to get ahead of the curve.

I used to work with a guy who said; their is always a huge river of money going by, all you have to do is be smart enough to scoop it up.

True enough. The operative phrase being:

All you have to do is figure out how to get ahead of the curve.

No small feat. I don't think enough of our children will "be smart enough to scoop it up"
Then what?

Surely you jest!

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

The deficit is $15B. Looks like they already cut $1.4B.

http://www2.illinois.gov/budget/Documents/Allocation%20of%20Lump%20Sum%20Appropriation%20and%20Reserves%20080210.pdf

What do you do?

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman