ST Alpha - "So, this is the big stink in our town lately. Sears' HQ is technically in our district and they want to extend tax breaks given to them 20 years ago" (Reading a Post)

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So, this is the big stink in our town lately. Sears' HQ is technically in our district and they want to extend tax breaks given to them 20 years ago

Posted by oblique (aka kkuphal) Oct 12 '11, 08:40

another 15. District wants the tax money. Sears says it may move HQ out of state if it doesn't get tax breaks.

People on Facebook are really up in arms over it. I'm not so sure I have the outrage for it. Losing a company like Sears is very detrimental to an area well beyond the $14M/yr. that the district might get in taxes. I'm not so sure it's as simple as they make it out to be. Losing that $14M/yr gives much more to Illinois which I know hurts the district but there's a bigger picture

http://couriernews.suntimes.com/news/8084131-418/how-tax-breaks-for-sears-eda-would-affect-sears-d300-u46-ecc-and-hoffman-estates.html (couriernews.suntimes.com)

Responses:

Sears is really Kmart anyways -- nm - budice Oct 12, 08:47
Corporate blackmail is great! - Mop (198 lbs) Oct 12, 08:45 11
- [deleted] 10
  - But it's also a bit of blackmail. They're threatening the town with the loss of income and jobs if they don't do what they tell them to do. - Krusty Oct 12, 09:05 9
    - [deleted] 4
      - I understand leverage but there seems to be a fine line between leverage and extortion in some cases. - Krusty Oct 12, 09:17 2
        
        When I have leverage, it's leverage. When the other person has leverage, it's extortion - Roger More Oct 12, 09:19 1
        
        Psych! -- nm - con_carne Oct 12, 09:20
      - [deleted]
    - It's a negotiation. Blackmail is is when I say that I will reveal something embarrasing about you, unless you meet my demands. -- nm - Roger More Oct 12, 09:07 1
      - Apparently it also means coercion involving threats for the purpose of taking someone's property or money. - Krusty Oct 12, 09:11
    - that's extortion, not blackmail, iinm. -- nm - znufrii Oct 12, 09:06 1
      - That's the word I was looking for. I knew blackmail wasn't exactly right. - Krusty Oct 12, 09:09
They're extorting the community. On that alone I'd call their bluff. -- nm - TWuG Oct 12, 08:44
Sears ain't going anywhere. And if they do, so what? They'll be gone within 15 years anyway. -- nm - ty97 Oct 12, 08:44 6
- (by gone I mean bankrupt or bought out) -- nm - ty97 Oct 12, 08:44 5
  - (spoilers) - znufrii Oct 12, 08:47 4
    - [deleted] 3
      - did I say something incorrect? - znufrii Oct 12, 08:51 2
        
        [deleted] 1
        
        and? - znufrii Oct 12, 09:03
[deleted] 5
- I know 2K jobs is 2K jobs, but that seems kind of a small number to be bending over so much for - con_carne Oct 12, 08:50 1
  - Think of it in terms of %. There are 50K people in the town, so this is (presumably) a large % of jobs there - Roger More Oct 12, 08:58
- This is true. Plus, if there's one thing I've learned from my work, it's that companies will say anything to get preferential gov't treatment -- nm - Roger More Oct 12, 08:49
- yes. -- nm - TFox Oct 12, 08:45
- [deleted]
god I am a beotch today - if we can pay more insurance premiums than by god the corporations can pay their taxes - everyone must sacrifice -- nm - Epiphany Oct 12, 08:42 14
- Ha ha. Or you can pay more insurance premiums AND we can go on paying no taxes -- nm - Corporations Oct 12, 08:44
- Yet then the company leaves, goes to another state and those 6000 workers are out of jobs, homes, and not putting money into the local economy -- nm - oblique Oct 12, 08:43 12
  - It's not that simple for a company to up and move and replace its employees - ty97 Oct 12, 08:48 6
    - One of these days a city may actually force the company's hand. But so far, the companies always get what they want. - Jim Oct 12, 08:52 3
      - Just look at Los Angeles. Whether a city can weather the loss of a huge employer depends a lot on how diversified the local economy is. - con_carne Oct 12, 08:56 1
        
        [deleted]
      - I'm not against the concept of municipalities and corporations working together to mutual benefit, mind you. - ty97 Oct 12, 08:55
    - [deleted]
    - so what you do, as a municipality, is come up with an estimate as to how much it would cost them to move, and tax them $1 less. -- nm - znufrii Oct 12, 08:49
  - or the company can make the sacrifice and stay and pay their taxes - be part of the solution - not part of the problem - Epiphany Oct 12, 08:46 4
    - how many individuals are going to choose to voluntarily pay more taxes to be part of the solution? like 9 people? -- nm - TFox Oct 12, 08:47 3
      - we don't have a choice on paying higher premiums - they can bite the bullet - they are in a better position to do this - Epiphany Oct 12, 08:50 2
        
        what i'm saying is, expecting corporations to be substantially more philanthropic than we ourselves would be is probably a waste of time. -- nm - TFox Oct 12, 08:52 1
        
        you are right - the whole thing is a waste of time - it's profits over state of economy - and THAT is never going to change -- nm - Epiphany Oct 12, 08:56

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So, this is the big stink in our town lately. Sears' HQ is technically in our district and they want to extend tax breaks given to them 20 years ago

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