Various Races

[southsider2k5]

Is that 1% of your property value?

 

NAV

 

http://ballotpedia.org/Indiana_Property_Ta...on_1_%282010%29

[StrangeSox]

Rauner has mentioned wanting to move all public pensions to 401k's. Unions aren't exactly popular these days, and they aren't all that politically powerful any more.

 

His campaign website policies seem fairly generic and also not really achievable with a Democratically controlled state congress.

 

Jobs

Get rid of the Quinn-Madigan tax hikes and replace them with a comprehensive overhaul of the tax code that is fair to all taxpayers.

Create Right-to-Work zones and allow local communities to decide whether workers must join a union in order to get a job.

Enact tort reform and limit lawsuit abuse.

Reform the workers’ compensation system to make Illinois competitive with neighboring states.

 

No specifics on what that comprehensive overhaul would actually be

RTW is anti-union

Not sure how tort reform would help jobs?

No idea what this even refers to. It's not actually saying anything. edit: apparently he's proposed reducing Illinois' minimum wage. To put this into perspective, Rauner made about $25000/hour last year.

 

Spending

Audit every dime.

Reform the pension system so we can spend more money on priorities like education, roads, and public safety.

Again sort of empty and meaningless. Like most "waste, fraud, abuse" slogans.

This would be his 401k proposal

 

Taxes

Get rid of the Quinn-Madigan 67% income tax hike.

Get rid of the Quinn-Madigan 45% corporate tax hike.

Ensure your property taxes never go up if the value of your home decreases.

Overhaul the tax code so that is fair to all taxpayers.

 

Not sure about the first two, but one or both might be the temporary tax increase that is scheduled to expire in the near future.

Seems reasonable on its face, but it could have crippling effects if a national housing bubble ever burst and caused property values to plummet.

Same as under his jobs section.

 

Pension Reform

Ensure pay and benefits do not rise faster than the rate of inflation.

Eliminate the ability of government employees to receive massive pay raises before they retire just to increase their pension.

Cap the current system and move towards a defined contribution system.

Well, current pay isn't exactly the same thing as future pensions. And would this mean public employees would never get a bigger raise than current inflation? [related: I wonder if Rauner would support a similar pegging of the minimum wage to inflation!]

This can be abused, as can the multiple-pension set up some of them get.

This is the 401k thing again. I'm completely, 100% opposed, but a lot of people aren't.

 

Government Reform

Push for term limits. No governor should be allowed to serve for more than 8 years, and the legislature should be term limited as well.

Allow state workers to choose whether they want to join a government employees union, instead of being forced to do so.

Control spending, because bigger government means more corruption.

 

Term limits are silly and don't accomplish anything useful, but they can be politically popular.

Just another way of "right-to-work," which still requires unions to represent every employee in a shop/office but lets employees free-ride without joining the union and paying dues. Essentially cripples unions.

Meaningless/dumb slogan.

 

Education

Whether traditional, charter, or private, Illinois’ children need access to more quality choices in education. Our broken school districts need to be changed so that public dollars are able to be used to provide an excellent education for all citizens. In order to do so, we need to let educators have the autonomy to run their own schools and let families choose schools that best fit their children’s needs. Our state’s century old educational policy regime is limiting the intellectual and economic growth of our people and only a competitive educational system with options for all parents will repair this.

 

Teaching is a truly noble profession. But like with any profession, there is a wide range of talent and dedication levels. The best teachers create magic in the classroom and are an inspiration to students for a lifetime. Those outstanding teachers deserve higher pay based on their merit. Tragically, a minority of teachers are simply not up to the job, and that deprives the children in their classrooms of a quality education. Those failing teachers must be held accountable and not given a lifetime guarantee in the classroom.

 

Education spending must be re-prioritized so our tax dollars go to the front lines of the education battlefield, and that’s the classroom. Today we spend far too much money on administration and bureaucracy, and not enough on teachers and classroom technology that directly benefits students. That needs to change.

 

Vouchers/charter schools drain resources from public schools to private corporations. They also have no better success than public schools on average, and they are often plagued with scandals, grift, cherry-picking students, etc.

 

The tenure system is already under reform, and nobody is given a lifetime guarantee even with tenure. Merit pay is a terrible idea because "merit" is equal to "how well students perform on the latest standardized test," which creates all sorts of issues. Teaching becomes focused even more on the testing, there are cheating scandals, and then there's no actual good linking of how effective a teacher is with how well their students might do on a standardized test. That doesn't mean the current system that relies somewhat strongly on seniority is the best or only method, but these "merit"-based methods have a track record of failure.

 

Agreed 100% with that. A few years ago, my wife's school district got a new superintendent. His first move was to hire several new administrative advisers. They all make considerable salary and don't seem to have done much of anything yet. Administrative bloat is hurting our college/university system badly as well. Really you can see this in a whole lot of sectors, not just education.

Edited March 19, 2014 by StrangeSox

[StrangeSox]

I mean, local politics has so few voters vote. That's the issue. It's not that people are stupid, it's that the people who are voting "know" the candidate and that he's a good guy/girl and will rep their interests. So everyone likes their rep, hates the whole.

 

I really wanted to vote in last April's local elections. Unfortunately, I could find almost no information at all about any of the local candidates beyond a bunch of empty slogans. Hell, if any of them had even bothered to hand out fliers and go door-to-door, they could have gotten my vote.

[RockRaines]

Charter schools look great because they put them next to CPS which is the worst in the nation. Comparative to s***, yes they are much better.

 

It still blows my mind how hard it is for a new teacher to get hired. My wife is going on two years of being an assistant and still cannot find a full time position. It's like getting into the mafia.

[bmags]

I really wanted to vote in last April's local elections. Unfortunately, I could find almost no information at all about any of the local candidates beyond a bunch of empty slogans. Hell, if any of them had even bothered to hand out fliers and go door-to-door, they could have gotten my vote.

 

Just voted in Guzzardi in logan square. Seems like a smart guy, and somehow younger than me.

 

But it's not just voting, people wouldn't believe how much actually writing to your congressman affects their views. If you took the time to write, they'll assume you'll most certainly vote.

[RockRaines]

I really wanted to vote in last April's local elections. Unfortunately, I could find almost no information at all about any of the local candidates beyond a bunch of empty slogans. Hell, if any of them had even bothered to hand out fliers and go door-to-door, they could have gotten my vote.

I'll keep that in mind for my election push in 2017

[StrangeSox]

I'll keep that in mind for my election push in 2017

 

My father-in-law is in local politics. Every weekend for about six weeks before the election, a couple dozen of us canvased local neighborhoods handing out "vote democrat" door hangers with a list of the local party's candidates.

 

Of course at this level, there's not a bunch of polling, strategists, etc. so who knows how effective this actually was.

[RockRaines]

My father-in-law is in local politics. Every weekend for about six weeks before the election, a couple dozen of us canvased local neighborhoods handing out "vote democrat" door hangers with a list of the local party's candidates.

 

Of course at this level, there's not a bunch of polling, strategists, etc. so who knows how effective this actually was.

Has there ever been a local or statewide politician that has run on the platform of having everyone have a say on each issue by way of online vote? That would be crazy.

[cabiness42]

My father-in-law is in local politics. Every weekend for about six weeks before the election, a couple dozen of us canvased local neighborhoods handing out "vote democrat" door hangers with a list of the local party's candidates.

 

Of course at this level, there's not a bunch of polling, strategists, etc. so who knows how effective this actually was.

 

If I were running for local office, unless the locale is overwhelmingly partisan and I am running for that particular party, I would never put my party on my literature. Just my name and my platform and let those speak for themselves.

 

I'd also hesitate to put my name alongside candidates for other offices. Just because we're in the same party doesn't mean those other candidates aren't corrupt assholes.

[Jenksismyhero]

If I were running for local office, unless the locale is overwhelmingly partisan and I am running for that particular party, I would never put my party on my literature. Just my name and my platform and let those speak for themselves.

 

I'd also hesitate to put my name alongside candidates for other offices. Just because we're in the same party doesn't mean those other candidates aren't corrupt assholes.

 

You'll never get a vote without a massive PR campaign to get your name out there. People vote party when they don't know names.

[StrangeSox]

If I were running for local office, unless the locale is overwhelmingly partisan and I am running for that particular party, I would never put my party on my literature. Just my name and my platform and let those speak for themselves.

 

I'd also hesitate to put my name alongside candidates for other offices. Just because we're in the same party doesn't mean those other candidates aren't corrupt assholes.

 

It really depends where you're running. None of my local races in April 2013 were partisan, but the office that my FIL ran for (not in my area) pretty much always is. One of the benefits, aside from the immediate party brand recognition, is campaign infrastructure. My FIL going on his own would have had little money and maybe a dozen volunteers between family and friends for campaigning. By running as part of the local Democratic Party, eight or so different candidates can coordinate together, pooling resources. We were helping my FIL, but those same fliers had other candidates as well. Those candidates' volunteers in turn helped my FIL. Most of the people running are people my FIL had known or worked with for years if not decades. He also knew that his co-candidates would be more likely to work with him some a few major projects he hoped to accomplish than the tea party-ish opposition.

[cabiness42]

You'll never get a vote without a massive PR campaign to get your name out there. People vote party when they don't know names.

 

I guess that's why I'll likely never run for any office. I would puke just thinking about putting a D or R next to my name.

 

[StrangeSox]

You'll never get a vote without a massive PR campaign to get your name out there. People vote party when they don't know names.

 

This was, honestly, part of the problem in getting any information about my local races. I had four or five different candidates for mayor (our old mayor was retiring), it was a non-partisan election and the most information I could find about any of them was that they had all served on city council in the past and all wanted to make the city great!! Awesome, I have no reason to vote for or against any of you.

 

Partisan judge elections seem wrong as hell though.

[StrangeSox]

I guess that's why I'll likely never run for any office. I would puke just thinking about putting a D or R next to my name.

 

Check you local offices/positions. Many of them can be non-partisan races.

[cabiness42]

Check you local offices/positions. Many of them can be non-partisan races.

 

Only thing in Indiana that I've ever seen that is non-partisan is school board.

[RockRaines]

I guess that's why I'll likely never run for any office. I would puke just thinking about putting a D or R next to my name.

Agreed.

[ptatc]

I don't know what the marijuana sin tax percentage is, but I think as more and more states move to (and do) legalize consumption, you'll also see diminishing marginal returns on taxes. I'm guessing Colorado itself saw quite the influx of new citizens due entirely to the legalization of marijuana. Washington is probably similar, but it's so far isolated that it makes more sense for people to move to Colorado as opposed to Washington.

 

Right now, if marijuana were legalized in Illinois, you'd likely see a similar uptick in population.

As well as an increase in state medical care in 10 years with the associated health problems.

[RockRaines]

As well as an increase in state medical care in 10 years with the associated health problems.

What health problems would that be?

[ptatc]

The other side of the coin is the people in the middle of nowhere that vote with jesus. Both sides are uninformed and are hurting the government. The only reason Oberweis keeps getting reelected is jesus and ice cream.

This doesn't happen in the city. I think you painting with far too broad of a brush and are a little narrow in your view of religion.

[ptatc]

What health problems would that be?

There are many studies which show the adverse effects of marijuana. They are much worse the tobacco for cardiovascular risks. You can pretty much guarantee a heart attack if you smoke it regularly. I posted some articles in another thread.

 

One of the paradoxical effects is the TCH and the anti-inflammatory capabilities. It is prescribed for some inflammatory conditions such as glaucoma for this reason. The other side is that any other injury will take much longer to heal or won't heal due to the inflammatory process not occurring. So in the short term and long term it will have an impact on your health, which in turn may have an effect on the long term health care of the state.

[southsider2k5]

Only thing in Indiana that I've ever seen that is non-partisan is school board.

 

Agreed.

[bmags]

There are many studies which show the adverse effects of marijuana. They are much worse the tobacco for cardiovascular risks. You can pretty much guarantee a heart attack if you smoke it regularly. I posted some articles in another thread.

 

One of the paradoxical effects is the TCH and the anti-inflammatory capabilities. It is prescribed for some inflammatory conditions such as glaucoma for this reason. The other side is that any other injury will take much longer to heal or won't heal due to the inflammatory process not occurring. So in the short term and long term it will have an impact on your health, which in turn may have an effect on the long term health care of the state.

 

I mean, people are already using it. I don't know if there's good data yet for uptick in actual usage, so the uptick would be marginal i'm guessing.

 

The population increase would widen the tax base, and hopefully they'll move to dense areas.

[StrangeSox]

There are many studies which show the adverse effects of marijuana. They are much worse the tobacco for cardiovascular risks. You can pretty much guarantee a heart attack if you smoke it regularly. I posted some articles in another thread.

 

One of the paradoxical effects is the TCH and the anti-inflammatory capabilities. It is prescribed for some inflammatory conditions such as glaucoma for this reason. The other side is that any other injury will take much longer to heal or won't heal due to the inflammatory process not occurring. So in the short term and long term it will have an impact on your health, which in turn may have an effect on the long term health care of the state.

 

Rock pointed out that in Colorado they're seeing a majority of the sales in edible THC.

 

Is the comparison with tobacco done on a equivalent-amount-smoked basis or a comparison of how much tobacco someone actually uses versus how much pot someone actually uses? People might smoke a pack of cigarettes a day or every couple of days, but they're not going to go through 20 joints that fast.

 

edit: I can't imagine that the long-term health effects of THC, especially if its ingested instead of smoked, are anywhere near as bad as the long-term health effects of alcohol.

Edited March 19, 2014 by StrangeSox

[RockRaines]

There are many studies which show the adverse effects of marijuana. They are much worse the tobacco for cardiovascular risks. You can pretty much guarantee a heart attack if you smoke it regularly. I posted some articles in another thread.

 

One of the paradoxical effects is the TCH and the anti-inflammatory capabilities. It is prescribed for some inflammatory conditions such as glaucoma for this reason. The other side is that any other injury will take much longer to heal or won't heal due to the inflammatory process not occurring. So in the short term and long term it will have an impact on your health, which in turn may have an effect on the long term health care of the state.

I disagree wholeheartedly. Marijuana doesnt contain carcinogens like tobacco and the heart attack risk you speak of has no validity other than a questionnaire aimed at proving a correlation between the two.

 

Not to mention edibles is by far the largest market for people which wouldnt have any cardiovasular effect no matter how false the studies are.

Edited March 19, 2014 by RockRaines

[RockRaines]

This doesn't happen in the city. I think you painting with far too broad of a brush and are a little narrow in your view of religion.

The city is blue and always will be. They may vote with jesus but jesus told them to vote democrat.