Month: June 2016

Trump and Justice Sotomayor on same page, you know

Before blogs there were letters to the editor. Some very good ones at Wall St. Journal today, such as this one:

Trump, the ‘Mexican’ Judge and Wise Latinas
Why is it so offensive when Donald Trump equates ethnicity with judicial bias but it’s fine when Sonia Sotomayor does?

Why indeed? Follow-through:

In a speech given at the UC Berkeley School of Law (Oct. 26, 2001) on the effect of gender and ethnicity on judging, the future Supreme Court justice spoke about the influence her Latina identity had on her presence on the bench.

Her remarks were far more diplomatic than Mr. Trump’s, but she reached virtually the same conclusion.

Some examples from the speech: “Our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging.” . . . “Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see.” . . . “But I accept there will be some [difference] based on my gender and my Latina heritage.”

Finally, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

So do not oppose Trump to at least one Obama appointee, at least not on this point.

 

 

 

 

Tax trades, and say bye-bye to the Merc

Argument is simple enough: you would make trades unprofitable.

A proposal for Illinois to tax trades on exchanges in the state is “ridiculous,” according to the executive chairman of Chicago-based market operator CME Group Inc.

The suggested levy—which would charge $1 or $2 per contract, depending on the product—would make many transactions uneconomic, forcing the exchange to leave the state because customers would stop buying and selling, CME Chairman Terry Duffy said.

The bill, designed to increase revenue in the financially troubled state, is in early stages and faces long odds of approval.

Yes, as Sen. Don Harmon told an Oak Park audience in 2013, in this exchange from my Illinois Blues: How the Ruling Party Talks to Voters.

. . . from the floor came an enterprising suggestion, that even with Harmon’s proposed fair tax (“graduated”) there still wouldn’t be enough money. “So how about the proposed tax on stock trades?” (A “sales tax on speculators,” a columnist called it.)

[Rep. Camille Lilly] laughed. “Actually, I saw that proposal, among so many that I didn’t read.”

Harmon said he had heard testimony for this tax, naming a local socialist who was also an energetic proponent of a mandated “living wage” for village employees. But he gently poured cold water on the idea, Lilly next to him nodding vigorous agreement.

“There’s the fear that this legislation would push the Chicago Mercantile Exchange out of the state,” Harmon explained. It was a rare nod to the role of taxation in damaging the economy.

Illinois Blues is available also as paperback and non-Kindle ebook.

For the rest of the CME story: Newsalert: CME Boss says he would have no choice but to move CME if Illinois tax passes

The gentleman had questions for the lady . . .

Rep. Dwight Kay (R-Glen Carbon) questioning Democrat floor leader

. . . who had the WORST time answering.

Ladies and gentlemen, our tax dollars at work, as documented by a Republican rep and the ineffable Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, ably assisted by a young woman who kept giving her tips as she responded, or sometimes had no tips to give, leading Rep. Currie to repeat “ditto” numerous times, all in response to the Republican’s asking if a budget line item had value for a “penniless” state.

Stay to the end or go there right away in this video of fecklessness by Democrats on full display. Over a million views and counting . . .

Source: (16) Illinois Policy

Chapter 3, There Will Be No Cuts

From Illinois Blues: How the Ruling Party Talks to Voters:

Sen. Don Harmon opened the July 17 (2013) Oak Park Library session with a reprise of his calm-down, don’t-worry commentary.

There had been “decades of underfunding” of pensions, he said. Nothing to see here, move on, why the fuss?

The problem can be solved without taking from “core government services, especially social services,” he said. Again, why the fuss?

Rep. Camille Lilly agreed but said the budget process was “really, really, really critical.” A triple-really gets the mind working: there might be cuts?

In any case, she had an important tip: Have a look at the budget on the state’s web site. It’s “the new technology of today,” she said. . . . .

Illinois Blues is available in paperback, epub and Amazon Kindle formats.

Cutting off Illinois water

Major lender says no more.

For years, Illinois has found the municipal-bond market open whenever it needs to raise money, despite budget deficits, worst-in-the-nation pension shortfalls and a political paralysis so severe it’s headed for a second year without even a blueprint for what it should be spending.

It’s about time to shut the doors on the state, says BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest money manager.

“We as municipal market participants should really be penalizing in some way, by almost not giving them any access to the market,” Peter Hayes, who oversees $119 billion as head of munis at BlackRock, said in New York on Wednesday. “Think about it — they’re a state without a budget, they refuse to pass a budget, they have the lowest funded ratio on their pension of any state, and yet they’re going to come to market and borrow money.”

This from someone who tries to handle other people’s money responsibly. Tries harder, we might say, than many if not most of Illinois’ elected officials.