Mayor Daley of Chicago Comes Callin' in Oregon

Ah, the effects of passing Measures 66-67 begin. The Chicago Sun Times reports that Chicago's Mayor Daley will be in Oregon shortly to court Oregon businesses for a move to the Windy City because of Measures 66-67:

"Chicago has been playing defense lately because of the exodus of trade shows at McCormick Place. But it looks like Mayor Daley is preparing to make the switch to offense.

Daley said Thursday he’s coming after businesses in the Pacific Northwest, emboldened by what he considers Oregon’s head-scratching decision to approve higher taxes on big corporations and big wage-earners.

“What happened in Oregon is not good news for Oregon. They believe that anybody who makes $125,000 or more [annually] or businesses or anyone who makes $250,000 — they’re gonna start taxing them. They call them ‘rich people,’ ” the mayor said.

“I’ve always thought America stands for [rewarding success]. You finish high school. You work hard, go to college and you hope to succeed in life. I never knew it’s a class war—that those who succeed in life are the ones that have to bear all the burden. I never realized that. It will be a whole change in America that those who succeed and work hard [that] we’re gonna tax ‘em more than anyone else.”

Daley said Oregon’s tax blunder spells opportunity for Chicago.

“It will help our economic development immediately. You’d better believe it. We’ll be out in Oregon enticing corporations to relocate to Chicago. I’ll be very frank. I make no bones about that. If those states want to do that, so be it,” he said.

Earlier this week, Oregon voters endorsed the idea of establishing a new and higher tax bracket of 10.8 percent for individuals earning more than $125,000 and families with annual incomes above $250,000. A tax rate of 11 percent would apply to a household income that tops $500,000-a-year.

Yet another increase would target Oregon corporations. A $10 minimum tax would be replaced by a sliding scale that ranges from $150-to-$100,000, depending on annual revenue.

And the tax rate for corporate income above $250,000 would rise to 7.9 percent. The tax rate for income below $250,000 would be 6.6 percent."

www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/2017137,mayor-daley-trade-shows-012810.article

Chicago picked up Boeing Corporate from Seattle a few years ago and now is looking to pick up some big names from Oregon - Nike comes to mind. Someone understands economics. Too bad it's not 54% of Oregon's voters.