I'm not an Obama basher but there's no way he (or Sen. Durbin for that matter) can talk about the new 'entrepreneurial spirit' in America that's leading us out of the current economic malaise and then point to his home state.
No politician in Illinois has ever met a tax s/he didn't like -- and passed into law. The state budget is a mess, underwater by 11.5B, the governor was recently impeached for attempting to sell a vacant Senate seat, the City of Chicago is selling off it's expressways and parking meters for immediate cash, in Cook County we have some of the highest sales taxes in the nation, that budget is underwater too and state pensions pay more money to retirees than was paid to them during employment.
Now look at 37Signals -- they're a great company, in the city, hard-working, focused, and making money. They're tough-minded business people and for me, an inspiration to keep working hard on my idea.
But I have no illusions -- the risk in Chicago is always entirely your own.
The Illinois state budget might be a mess, but heck, California has been issuing IOUs and is nearly bankrupt. I'm not sure if the state budget necessarily has anything to do with startup-friendliness.
No politician in Illinois has ever met a tax s/he didn't like -- and passed into law. The state budget is a mess, underwater by 11.5B, the governor was recently impeached for attempting to sell a vacant Senate seat, the City of Chicago is selling off it's expressways and parking meters for immediate cash, in Cook County we have some of the highest sales taxes in the nation, that budget is underwater too and state pensions pay more money to retirees than was paid to them during employment.
Now look at 37Signals -- they're a great company, in the city, hard-working, focused, and making money. They're tough-minded business people and for me, an inspiration to keep working hard on my idea.
But I have no illusions -- the risk in Chicago is always entirely your own.