In this political environment where Republican hostage taking is all the rage, Illinois corporations are now regularly taking their employee's jobs hostage as they demand tax breaks from the state. This brand of economic terrorism goes like this:
On Thursday, it was the Chicago Board Options Exchange suggesting that higher corporate taxes in Illinois could cause it to take jobs out of state. The CBOE’s warning came a day after CME Group Inc. said the same thing. CME owns the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade.
The options market, with its headquarters and trading floor at 400 S. La Salle, employs about 580 people, not including traders who use its facilities.
A CBOE spokesman said in a statement that “economic realities” could force a move, although it prefers to stay put.
Would it really surprise you that CBOE and CME's economic realities aren't doing so poorly? Take the jump...
This would be funny if it weren't so damn predictable:
(Reuters) - CBOE Holdings Inc (CBOE.O), which operates the oldest and biggest U.S. stock options market, said quarterly profit rose, helped by increased trading volumes.
Net income in the first quarter rose 45 percent to $32.9 million, or 36 cents a share, from $22.7 million, or 25 cents a share, a year earlier, CBOE said on Thursday. Revenue rose 23 percent to $124 million. Meanwhile expenses rose just 7 percent, to $66.5 million.
[...]
The company had $115.7 million in cash at the end of the quarter, more than double the level a year earlier.
Those economic realities are just
too stark:
CME Group Inc. Reports 26 Percent Increase in First-Quarter Operating Income Driven by Highest Quarterly Revenue Ever.
-- Record first-quarter revenue of $832 million, up 20 percent
-- Record quarterly revenue for both exchange-traded and over-the-counter cleared agricultural commodities, energy and metals products
How many of you have seen your savings double this past year? What, you didn't see a 45% raise? Did you see record earnings last year? Those are CBOE and CME's economic realities.
These are the economic realities for the rest of us:
-- In February, Maine Township High School District 207 in Park Ridge approved the layoffs of 75 teaching and 62 non-teaching jobs.
-- Carpentersville School District 300 voted to release 112 teachers earlier this month in anticipation of a budget loss.
-- Elgin District U-46 (the state’s second largest school district) approved layoffs for 1,037 employees, roughly 25 percent of its staff, at end of this year, according to the Daily Herald.
--Last week, the Belvidere school district got the green light to eliminate 57 teachers, according the Rockford Register Star.
Then this is this
economic reality for more of us:
Sheriff Dick Meyers had to reduce his budget by $2.6 million this year, which he said was done using furlough days for command staff, attrition and tighter monitoring of overtime expenses. But those measures weren’t enough to avoid the need for layoffs.
Six corrections officers accepted voluntary layoffs, and six patrolmen will be laid off based on seniority. The law enforcement division will be down 29 jobs from its authorized strength of 150 officers, Meyers said, and the jail will have 22 corrections officers fewer than its authorized strength of 228.
“There’s no way you can lose 29 positions in the department and not reduce the effectiveness of keeping the public safe, which should be the main priority and the main concern,” said Greg Leombruni, who represents the sheriff’s deputies in the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 50.
Let's not forget these
economic realities:
"We believe that our positions are essential to public safety," said Jim Dunaway, one of more than 400 Cook County adult probation officers, and also their AFSCME union representative.
[...]
Which is why the officers say Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans is playing with fire. Evans is in charge of the Adult Probation Department, which recently sent letters to 40 officers -- roughly ten percent of the force -- telling them they will be laid-off, effective April 9.
Nothing to see here. Due to its version of "economic realities," CBOE and CME Group are demanding that the state of Illinois subsidize their profit margins by reducing the state revenue needed to pay for teachers, police and municipal workers. These corporate hostage takers are threatening to kill Illinois jobs because paying their fair share of these costs is too harsh an economic reality.
The cause of this corporate angst?:
The main cause of the avowed wanderlust is January’s increase in the corporate income tax rate in Illinois. The rate grew to 9.5 percent from 7.3 percent.
Terrence Duffy, chairman of CME Group, said Wednesday the higher rate is costing his company $50 million a year. Duffy also criticized the state for maintaining tax loopholes that grant favors to a few companies at the expense of others.
Mr. Duffy's compensation in 2010: $4,658,683.
Illinois raised the corporate income tax rate this year in an effort to stem the structural deficit caused largely by a regressive flat income tax that sees a teacher making $40,000 a year pay the same income tax rate as Mr. Duffy.
Let's put the corporate tax increase in perspective. To give you a visual, it would be a little more than two pennies per dollar. Two pennies that pay for things like educating children and keeping Illinois residents safe.
But that's too much to ask. Corporations are the new entitled class who must have their profits subsidized by cutting essential state services like educating children or keeping the public safe. Elected representatives of the state are being blackmailed into trading the jobs of teachers, police and municipal workers for corporate profits. Public worker pensions and benefits are to be cut so corporations like CBOE can increase their income by 45% and double their savings.
Welcome to the new economic reality.