School Taxes, Town Taxes and the Chicago Teachers Strike

The debate the last few years perhaps caused mainly by the real estate bubble bursting is how can we stop home taxes from rising.

When homes were increasing in value, perhaps $50,000 to $100,000 per year, no one really went off the deep end about an 8 percent increase in their tax bill. But that has changed now that home values have mostly dipped while the tax bill for them continues to rise.

The state of New York put in its 2% cap, which means two things, lower tax increases but with reduced town services (which cost more sometimes than the tax increase.)

In the past the school budgets always seemed to be sacred cows, the idea of sacrificing for the children. But with the demographics changing and the lion's share of the population and wealth concentrated in folks over 55, school boards are facing more resistance then ever.

So now we have the Chicago teachers striking perhaps after watching next door Wisconsin Gov. Scott Wilson take teachers and there tenured salaries to the woodshed. They are going in another direction. Along with their average $76,000 base salary, the union is demanding 29 percent increase over the next two years. So of course there is a strike.

The mess is unbelievable with a few hundred thousand kids not going to school, but floating about in an under supervised out of control situation.

Could the police and fire departments be next?

I personally don't know what to think, when I was younger everyone received pay increases regularly.

No one was against folks getting pay increases, workers were neighbors, friends, real people. Now workers are listed as costs to corporate bottom lines that prevent middle management and upper management bonuses if not kept in check. So lately salaries/wages seem to be frozen with underlings thankful to have jobs.

I remember when GM and Ford where failing their executives were criticized for flying private jets to testify before Congress. Yet today the president, vice president, first lady, speaker of the House, and numerous cabinet post members, along with certain senators fly in government planes as if the country was flourishing and not without a balanced budget. Not to mention, the cars with paid drivers they all seem to get. Sort of like rock stars, except lately rock stars are now driving themselves.

The last point for today is the Chicago mayor is not an extreme right wing Republican as the governor of Wisconsin is so portrayed, but a liberal ally of the president who has strong teachers union support.

Very ugly situation of who gets what where and how. What do you think? Please comment.