Benjamin Franklin once said "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." But I wonder if you can be taxed to death? Every time I turn on the TV or pick up the paper someone wants to raise taxes. The Chicago Board of Education is planning a property tax increase, Cook County wants to raise the sales tax and some state lawmakers want to raise taxes to bail out the CTA, Metra and Pace. Now Mayor Daley is considering raising property taxes. Trib writer Gary Washburn put it best, "It's a tough time to be a Chicago taxpayer." The last time I checked, there aren't too many companies raising salaries. So how are we suppose to pay for these tax increases, with blood? Even that will run out.

Here I go on a tax rant again! Yesterday, Mayor Daley released his 2008 budget for Chicago. It’s full of all kinds of taxes, fines and fee increases. There’s of course the biggest property tax increase in Chicago’s history, higher fees for sewer and water, higher liquor taxes, city sticker increases for SUV owners and of course, a new 10-cent tax on each bottle of water.

10 cents per bottle could bring in a lot of loot. According to the International Bottled Water Association, U.S. residents drink more bottled water annually than any other beverage, other than pop.

But is bottled water really worth it? The organization “Think Outside the Bottle” says at least 4 billion pounds of plastic bottles wound up in city landfills last year. And that’s after companies used 17 million barrels of oil to make the bottles.

Now if you’re not buying the “you’re destroying the planet” argument, then let me appeal to your “common sense.” Almost 40% of bottled water comes from the same source as tap water, which has to meet high purity standards. And if you get tap water from a relative or a friend's house, it's free!

Still not convinced? Then think about this. Most 16oz bottles of water cost about $1.25. Add on the 10-cent tax and you’re paying $1.35. It takes 128 oz, or 8 bottles to equal a gallon. So in essence, you’re paying $10.80 for a gallon of water. That’s more than a gallon of gas or milk, more than a 6 pack of beer, more than an extra value meal at McDonald’s, it’s even more than a martini or margarita at your favorite bar.

Now that I have you’re attention, is a bottle of water worth all of that, plus 10 cents?

Are we going to be able to afford to leave our homes in the city of Chicago in 2008?
It seems as though the air we breathe will be the only thing not taxed next year under Mayor Daley's budget proposal.. which includes.. among other things.. a major property tax hike, higher taxes on bottled water, on sewer, on phone usage, higher liquor taxes, more money for car leases, parking offenses, and higher prices on city vehicle stickers for SUV's.
Okay so we'll cut back on entertainment, drink from the tap, stop using a phone, won't buy liquor, and take public transportation. But wait.. that won't work either.. The CTA's doomsday scenario is about to cut service and increase fares.
Mayor Daley has expressed regret for all he is asking of Chicago residents, and I understand his desire to "keep Chicago moving forward", but will it force Chicagoans to move out? Or even deter possible new residents to move outside the boundaries, deflecting new monies from the city coffers? And then because of that do we see more hikes next year?
For now the budget is in the preliminary stages and will likely not end up as it was laid out. The property tax hike could get cut or pulled off the table depending on the folks in Springfield, who themselves are still wrestling with the State budget. Good thing the sky can't really fall.

I have finally figured it out. I know why every municipal taxing body in the state that can levy a tax increase is trying to do so at the same time. They want us to beg them to approve the new casino legislation. Try to follow my reasoning.

According to the IRS, the richest 1% of Americans earned more than 21 percent of U.S. income in 2005. Furthermore, a Harvard Economics professor says today’s middle class has about half as much spending money as their parents did in the early 1970s, after taking care of essentials like housing and health care. So there’s hard data that proves most people are barely hanging on financially.

So why do our elected officials believe that we can handle a Chicago property tax increase, a Cook County sale tax increase, a state sales tax increase, and whole host of other tax and fee increases, from a new phone tax, to a tax on bottle water, to higher vehicle sticker fees, etc. all at the same time?

I think they are piling it on so that we will beg for a way out. Then they will say the only way that we can create enough revenue to solve our financial woes is to add 3 new casinos.

I know it sounds like a conspiracy theory and of course not all of these taxing bodies will get a share of the casino revenue, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t lingering in the back of one or some of their minds.

Well he may not be too happy with it, but it appears Governor Blagojevich is poised to sign the bail out plan for Chicago's mass transit. It's going to raise sales and real estate taxes in the area, but it will keep Chicagoland’s transit moving.
Now there is finally some positive movement to get this long drawn out transit saga under control. What is wrong with this state? I say that more as a rhetorical question. I'm from Chicago but being in news I have moved around to a half dozen states in the last 12 years reporting on state government and I am dumbfounded at how money in the state of Illinois is handled. We live in one of the largest city's in the U.S. our sales tax is already enormous and still our local and state leaders cannot find money to keep public transportation, which I'd argue isn't that great to begin with, a float. It seems crazy to me; transit problems, the state budget, the county budget, the city budget, and just about anything else where money is involved take so long for our politicians to agree on. Given the number of people who live here and the amount of money in taxes we all pay, shouldn't there be enough? There seems to be enough money in other cities, with less people and arguably better public transportation.
Why can't Chicago model its Public transportation after Washington D.C., New York, or London? In London you pay for public transportation by zones. Why would that be so hard for Chicago? It only makes sense for someone traveling from Rosemont getting off at Clark on the Blue line, to pay a little more than someone getting on at Grand. And what about O'hare? Why not leave everything the same and jack up prices to O'hare? Make it a $5.00 ride every time, with a special pass for O’hare employees to pay normal fare routes. Five bucks is still cheaper than a 30-dollar cab ride or paying to park.
I agree special concessions should likely be made in those cases of the elderly, disabled, and for students. But I venture to guess many CTA riders wouldn't mind paying a little more if it meant things showed up on time, and were occasionally clean.
At least with the new legislation things will still keep showing up. And we’d like to think it couldn’t run the way it is forever, right?