Thomas Pritzker, patriarch of Chicago’s richest family and executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corp., is starting to do business in Iraq.
A venture he co-founded to chase deals in the war-torn country and other parts of the Middle East announced its first project last month: an upgrade of a port on the Persian Gulf—work that will be parceled out to two other Pritzker holdings.
I’m sorry but am I the only one thinking Arrested Development?
United Continental Holdings, parent of United Airlines, is giving back $5.6 million in City of Chicago tax incentives.
The incentive money is tied to United’s 2007 move to its corporate headquarters at 77 W. Wacker Drive, along the Chicago River. Because of United’s recent plans to move out of that building and consolidate its headquarters into Willis Tower where it has other operations, the airline said it was “appropriate” to return the money. However, it wasn’t necessary.
City officials said United had so far fulfilled its obligations for receiving the money, such as maintaining a minimum employment level in the 77 W. Wacker Drive building, and that the incentives would have traveled with the company as it moved several blocks down Wacker Drive to Willis Tower.
via Chicago Tribune.
Well Kudos to United Continental!!
As you (should already) know, TIF’s are evil. United’s actions are commendable. Abolishing TIF’s; putting as much money back into the general tax rolls as possible is the goal. Giving the money back to the TIF shows that it’s not needed. That’s a great first step in getting rid of the TIF altogether.
After we win this election, it’s our turn. Payback time. Everyone not with us is against us and they better be ready because we don’t forget. The ones who helped us will be rewarded, the ones who opposed us will get what they deserve. There is going to be hell to pay. Congress won’t be a problem for us this time. No election to worry about after this is over and we have two judges ready to go.
— Valerie Jarrett, Obama Senior Advisor
That’s one classy lady.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36bzSnoXCv0?rel=0]
An incredible complication of stories over at TheBlaze.com.
Here’s a partial list of layoffs announced since the election:
Energizer – laying off 1,500 employees
Exide Technologies – laying off 150 employees
Westinghouse – laid off another 50 employees
Research in Motion Limited – laid off about 200 employees
Lightyear Network Solutions – laid off more than a dozen
Providence Journal – laid off 23 employees
Hawker Beechcraft – laying off 240 employees
Boeing – laying off 30% of executives at Boeing Defense, Space & Security
CVPH Medical Center – laid off 17 employees
US Cellular – laying off 980, 640 in the Chicago area
Momentive Performance Materials – laying off 150
Rocketdyne – laid off about 100
Brake Parts – laying off 75
Vestas Wind Systems – reducing headcount by 3,000
Husqvarna – laying off 600
Center for Hospice New York – laying off 40
Bristol-Meyers – laying of 480
OCE North America – laying off 135
In its statement, UtahAmerican Energy blames the Obama administration for instituting policies that will close down “204 American coal-fired power plants by 2014″ and for drastically reducing the market for coal.
United Blood Services Gulf South region, the non-profit blood service provider for much of south Louisiana and Mississippi, will lay off approximately 10 percent of its workforce. It was a hard decision to make according to Susan Begnaud, Regional Center Director for the Gulf South region.
Insane right? Here’s a partial list of businesses closing announced since the election:
Caterpillar Inc. will close its plant in Owatonna Minn.
Mount Pleasant’s Albrecht Sentry Foods
The Target store at Manassas Mall Va.
Millennium Academy in Wake Forest NC
Target Closing Kissimmee FL Location
The Andover Gift Shop in Andover MA
Grand Union Family Markets Closing Storrs Location CT
Movie Scene Milford Location NH
Update: TE Connectivity Closing Greensboro Plant – 620 Layoffs Expected
Gomer’s Fried Chicken in South Kansas City
Fresh Market on Pine Street in Burlington
AGC Glass North America to permanently close its Blue Ridge Plant in Kingsport Tenn
The Target store at Platte and Academy in Colorado Springs
The Roses store on Reynold Road in Winston-Salem NC
Bost Harley-Davidson at 46th Avenue North and Delaware Ave. in West Nashville TN
Townsend Booksellers in Oakland
The Kmart store in Parkway Plaza off University Drive in Durham NC – 79 Jobs Lost
Where’s Chris Matthews on this story? Where the rest of the media on this story?
Residents in some Illinois counties sent a message to lawmakers this week: Give citizens the right to carry concealed weapons.
Measures supporting concealed carry were on the ballot Tuesday in at least 10 mostly rural counties — Adams, Bond, Henry, McDonough, Mercer, Randolph, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stephenson and Warren — and passed overwhelmingly in every one.
The votes were nonbinding because local law cannot override state law. But advocates say they hope to build pressure on lawmakers to support concealed carry.
Illinois is the only state where carrying a concealed weapon is entirely illegal.
via DailyHerald.com.
Hat Tip to Stranger over at Extrano’s Alley for the story. Being in Cook County where it’s illegal to even think about owning a gun, I did not even know these referenda were on the ballot.
Kudos to the rest of the state for standing up to The Machine.
Americans’ taxes will rise in a few weeks. Though the direction is clear, the exact amount is yet to be determined.
More than a dozen tax cuts are set to expire Dec. 31 and a couple of new taxes are scheduled to start with the new year. Combined, they would affect nearly 90 percent of taxpayers, from the very richest to the very poorest, with the typical household’s tax bill rising by about $2,000 in 2013, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.
via NYTimes.com.
I had this story on Sept. 21. I called it 100 Days until Taxmageddon.
Funny how the NYT saved this story until AFTER the election.
Back on Monday I had a fairly lengthy email exchange with a colleague. In addition to a prediction of the race he wanted something a little more down the trough so to speak. I told him that if Obama won it would be the beginning of the end of our beloved U.S of A.
I have a quote on my foundations page:
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.
— Attributed to Alexander Fraser Tytler
It appears the American people have spoken: they want the free lunch; they believe we can eat the rich; they demand their free phones and it really doesn’t matter who’s paying for it… as long as it’s not them. They want a pot on every stove and a chicken in every pot. They understand nothing of finance or economics other than to know that someone else should pay. The government has trillions; they should get theirs’. It’s a lot like Kramer explaining a write-off to Jerry on Seinfeld. The American people don’t know where the money comes from and frankly don’t care. The government has the money. The government knows what it’s doing. I’m voting for the guy who’s going to make sure that I get mine.
I spoke with a friend this afternoon who told me about Santa Claus. I’m not a huge Rush fan but it is so dead on the money.
But first, let me tell you, small things beat big things yesterday. Conservatism, in my humble opinion, did not lose last night. It’s just very difficult to beat Santa Claus. It is practically impossible to beat Santa Claus. People are not going to vote against Santa Claus, especially if the alternative is being your own Santa Claus.
Now, everybody is jumping on Romney’s chain today, getting in his chili. Look, he may have not been the most optimal candidate, but he’s a fine man. He would have been great for this country. Mitt Romney and his family would have been the essence of exactly what this country needs. But what was Romney’s recipe? Romney’s recipe was the old standby: American route to success, hard work. That gets sneered at. I’m sorry. In a country of children where the option is Santa Claus or work, what wins? And say what you want, but Romney did offer a vision of traditional America. In his way, he put forth a great vision of traditional America, and it was rejected. It was rejected in favor of a guy who thinks that those who are working aren’t doing enough to help those who aren’t. And that resonated.
via Rush Limbaugh.
Is that not accurate?
We don’t want to work. We want life to be easy. We want to believe that rich people did not earn their money. We want the government to take care of us, keep us safe. We have a tax code that punishes saving and savers — people who save their money get their social security taxed at a higher rate than those who spend their money. We go out of our way to accommodate irresponsibility at every turn; everyone deserves a second chance… or a third… or a fourth…
And so a great many celebrated last night. Indeed!! Eat, drink, & be merry for tomorrow we die. First you will kill the producers; the so called “rich” who take most of the financial risk in this country. Then you will punish the banks, those who also make money by taking a financial risk. As the economy fails the masses will demand safety and comfort from their government giving up more and more freedoms along the way. We, our government, will force more taxes and restrictions on the dwindling number of producers — you cannot fire people, you cannot make more than $1,000,000 per year, etc. It will never be enough. More regulations, less freedom. More demands by the populous; less to go around.
Congratulations America. You’re witnessing the beginning of your end.
So by all means eat, drink, and be merry… for tomorrow we all shall die.
As Mitt Romney and Barack Obama make one final, last-ditch effort to win the presidency, some Washington, D.C. and surrounding area folks are using Craigslist to make one last-ditch effort to find an election night companion for some adult entertainment.
Here are some of the best lines from personal ads seeking to relieve some stress from this seemingly never-ending campaign, “grown folks style”:
via The Daily Caller.
A tad more prurient than I usually but it’s too funny to pass up.
Click and enjoy.