Finances: March 2009 Archives

This is really rich. After eight years of Democratic rule in Illinois which has taken the state to the brink of bankruptcy, now Gov. Pat Quinn wants to hike the income tax rate 50 percent.

The Hound believes George Harrison had it right in "Taxman": "Should 5 percent appear too small/Be thankful I don't take it all." Yikes, in the midst of the Great Recession, the governor wants to increase taxes. Only in Illinois.

Who was minding the store all these years lawmakers were writing a blank check for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, D-Not Indicted Yet, and all the government agencies with their hands out? And, didn't Blago call this one when he got impeached. He said once he was out of the way, Quinn and lawmakers would be raising taxes. What a seer.

Quinn's proposal floated Friday and to be offered to the Legislature on Wednesday calls for the income tax on individual wage earners rising from 3 percent to 4.5 percent; on business from 4.8 percent to 7.2 percent. If that jump in the corporate rate isn't a job killer, The Hound doesn't know what is.

Hello, Wisconsin, The Hound can hear Lake County business leaders saying. Especially considering Lake County's jobless rate is hovering around 9 percent already. Hey, governor, ever thought of cutting spending for a change? Like, lawmakers' salaries?

The reason Quinn, formerly Blago's lieutentant governor, is calling for this massive tax hike and infusion of money is the state owes $11.5 billion. So, the governor figures a tax hike is the way to go. Whoa, these guys daily increase the target-rich-environment for Republicans next year.

The Hound has two words for Pat Quinn: Richard Ogilvie. And for those who don't know who that is, Google it.

We now see why Chicago-based Northern Trust quickly returned that $1.6 billion in federal TARP money: Its president and CEO earned $6.1 million, most of it in stock and option awards, last year. If they can give out bonuses that big, they don't need no stinking TARP funds.

If Frederick Waddell is the norm and not the exception in this industry --- at the root of the economic meltdown --- no wonder the Average Joes and Janes don't trust the banking bailouts. However, his compensation last year was down from the $14.4 million he earned in 2007. All this can be found in the firm's regulatory filing it deposited last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Perhaps, though, Waddell earned his keep. Northern Trust, after all, has been profitable, even after sponsoring lavish parties and concerts during the Northern Trust Open at a posh Los Angeles area country club last month.

Yet, it seems systemic of the banking industry and if cable networks are looking for a new reality series, The Hound has a suggestion: "Bashing the Banker".

The show would pit different bankers versus each other to find which one could waste more on inane lifestyles and investments than the next. Sort of like "The Real Housewives of Orange County" and its various spinoffs from Atlanta to New York. Then a panel of judges, like in "Top Chef", gets to grade each of the bankers on how profligate they are. The winner gets a bonus; the loser gets flogged.

This idea has legs, The Hound believes. Everybody else is bashing them so it's time for reality to set in.