Glenn Farkas
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On the article Fine Votes To Reduce Lawmaker Salaries
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On the article Should School Art Programs Be Funded By Property Tax?
Glenn Farkas
9:58 am on Monday, March 25, 2013
ReplyAlso, as anyone who has ever been interviewed knows, writers don't usually tape record your conversation but jot down notes when you are talking. They don't get every quote correct and take some quotes out of context. The author also made a mistake when he suggested I said iPads were a district expense. Our school was provided these tablets by the Glenview Education Foundation. The bottom line is we need to live within our means at the local level and look for new and creative ways to find funding for non-core subjects if we want to keep providing them for our children instead of just burying the costs in our property tax costs. Everyone will have their own opinion of what is core and non-core, but getting this topic on the table has to be done if we are going to sustain our schools for the next 50 years. If you want to read the entire Journal Topics article for the whole story, see this link. http://www.journal-topics.com/news/article_752325f4-9191-11e2-b236-001a4bcf6878.html
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On the article Should School Art Programs Be Funded By Property Tax?
Glenn Farkas
9:49 am on Monday, March 25, 2013
ReplyI saw this article this morning and was a little surprised, so I would like to clarify a few points. First, it is no secret that D34, and almost all school districts across the state are having trouble balancing their budgets. It is also true that most districts continue to raise property taxes every year to try and fill the holes. On the north shore, we already pay some of the highest property taxes in the state, so this process cannot go on indefinitely. I would think that everyone would agree that it is unsustainable. Knowing this, my comments to the Journal-Topics suggested alternative ways to fund schools outside of continual property taxes, while also looking at ways to trim the budget. My personal belief is that the core subjects from K-8 (math, science, reading, writing, history, languages, etc) need to be funded by the taxpayers of each community...everyone who lives in the community has a vested interest in making sure our kids have these skills. But the other subjects, like music, art, drama, sports will always be the first ones considered for reduction/removal when the treasury runs dry. If the community still wants these subjects, then we need alternative ways to bring in revenue outside of property taxes, such as advertising and user fees. Partial funding by taxpayers is also possible with other revenues making up the difference. There is no magic bullet, but it will take individuals with new ideas and the courage to express them to solve these issues
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On the article Northfield Township Trustees Concerned Over Reconstruction of Glenview Facility
Glenn Farkas
9:32 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013
ReplyDid Ms. Bluestein mention she sponsored a referendum to eliminate the highway commission position altogether? If she wants to get rid of this division, why is she also sponsoring a Democratic candidate for the position? Seems to me she wants it both ways, so that either way she can get her hands on the money (by the way, this money was saved over several years so that the project could eventually be done, which is the way most logical individuals plan for large expenditures instead of waiting until the last second and then borrowing/taxing). It seems that Ms. Bluestein cannot wait to access this pot of cash for some other project she deems more worthy.
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On the Blog Post Defending the 2nd Amendment
Glenn Farkas
9:04 am on Monday, January 14, 2013
ReplyNancy, I largely agree with most of your points. What I don't understand is the apathy from the left about the daily killing (mainly via guns) in the large metropolitan areas of the country. If you review the crime data, the overwhelming majority of gun violence is in small pockets of high crime areas near large cities, yet all the media attention gets focused on suburban shootings which are extremely rare. The media and left wing opponents of firearms then use these rare events to justify taking away all firearms from law abiding citizens, leaving them defenseless against societal predators who choose to ignore all laws. It would seem that the best way to limit gun violence would be to focus on incarcerating violent criminals (and keeping them there for long periods of time); increasing police presence in those areas; and expanding economic opportunities within those communities to get people working and off the street. I don't want to minimize the tragedies of Colorado and Connecticut, but our 2nd amendment rights to defend ourselves and our families needs to be vigorously defended.
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On the article Is Mitt Romney a Real Life Don Draper?
Glenn Farkas
4:09 pm on Saturday, October 20, 2012
Betsy and Sal: That was not a humorous nor intended to be humorous article. It was totally slanted,biased and sounds like something Bill Mahr would say and then hide behind his "comic" rights. I applied the same sarcasm and bias right back at you. Your fictitious war on women is used as cover so not as to discuss the serious failings of the Democratic Party in Illinois and the US. Patch should be ashamed for letting you post it.
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On the article Is Mitt Romney a Real Life Don Draper?
Glenn Farkas
9:54 am on Saturday, October 20, 2012
ReplyBetsy and Sal: Sounds like you two have been unemployed for quite awhile. You probably weren't good enough to be included in anyone's binders for qualified applicants, so I guess you have solid reasons to be bitter. And your knock on Romney for being too good looking and smooth is really quite funny. How else do you think Obama got elected 4 years ago? On his stellar resume of accomplishments in the real world? Good luck on your job search. I hear they are hiring at Dunkin Donuts but I'm not quite sure if either of you are qualified.
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On the article Poll: Should Gun Buyers Face 'Violence Tax'?
Glenn Farkas
12:47 pm on Sunday, October 14, 2012
428Win, the crux of your argument seems to be that guns/ammunition create an overwhelming cost to the health care and criminal justice system so they should either be a) outlawed and/or b) taxed heavily to offset that cost. Correct? Outlawing guns not possible: 2nd amendment gives citizens the right to own firearms, and I don't believe it specifically says that you can only keep it in your home. I would favor a "May Issue" type of concealed carry law. And for B, taxing and overtaxing a constitutional right is not the same as sin taxing liquor, cigarettes, etc. to discourage their use by the public. The fact that gun violence is creating excessive costs to taxpayers says more about the lack of aggressive prosecution of violent offenders (keep them off the street so they are not repeat offenders) and the breakdown of the inner city family. How about overtaxing citizens who don't raise their children properly and foist them onto society to create crime and mayhem? Pretty slippery slope. And as for education and competition with China/India - your not ready for an open and honest conversation about public schools, teachers, teacher's unions and property taxes.
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On the article Poll: Should Gun Buyers Face 'Violence Tax'?
Glenn Farkas
12:16 pm on Sunday, October 14, 2012
428Win, I can only wonder why you feel so confident that the angels that run IL or the Federal gov't really have your best interests at heart. Taxing guns/ammo to prevent violence is just a ruse...and you bought it hook, line and sinker. Do you really think any of those funds would go directly to paying for victims of gun violence? Any additional revenue they may (and I mean may) generate would be quickly usurped by another totally unrelated program that the liberals would create because they saw an extra dollar of tax receipts in the pot. IL brings in over $30 billion in taxes now - Can't they live within these means? If you want to curb violence, arrest and lock up violent criminals for a long time. And if that is too expensive for IL, let's outsource their detention to China. I bet we could get a much better deal on their detainment.
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On the article Poll: Should Gun Buyers Face 'Violence Tax'?
Glenn Farkas
10:58 am on Sunday, October 14, 2012
428Win, you're right...this is about taxes...way too much of them. A liberals first reaction is always to tax more, because they can't bring themselves to cut spending of other people's money. And why do liberals only propose taxes on products/services they don't like (guns) or what they think others should not like (32 oz sodas). They know that these taxes will not directly affect the problems they are talking about, but they hope the voters are foolish enough to think so. It's a cover up for the simple fact that their incompetent leadership has put the state on the brink of bankruptcy.
Glenn Farkas
9:43 am on Tuesday, April 23, 2013
That is a good first step, presuming that legislators will actually vote to penalize themselves. Step two is to eliminate all pensions for newly elected legislators and drastically reduce the benefits for existing ones. No one else in IL is more culpable for the status of public pensions than our elected officials in Springfield.