November 20, 2009

"Why would anybody stay in Chicago? It's freezing here, and I have a mansion in Montecito..."

Wow. Hasn't Chicago been kicked around enough? First, the Olympics snub, and now Oprah. There's one more obvious O that could kick Chicago, and that's Obama. At least it will be a few years before we see that he's not going back to Chicago when the presidential gig ends.

***

The linked article says: "Oprah and her people have long limited the time she spends in Montecito so she doesn't exceed the number of days mandating her to pay exorbitant taxes as a California resident." Ha, I say. Liberals! They are all for rich folk paying high taxes, but what do they do when they are rich? How rich is Oprah? Really, really rich. So rich she can't have enough ideas of what to spend it all on. So why withhold it from the dear sweet state of California that you love so much and that needs money so terribly, terribly badly?

43 comments:

Anonymous said...

Taxes are for the little people, Ann.

It reminds me of John Kerry. In Massachusetts, the state income tax is 5.3% ... but you have the option of paying a higher rate if you so choose of 5.5%.

Kerry always pays the lower rate.

Paddy O said...

Wow. This is the exact decision I made in 1997 after graduating from college.

Well, except about the mansion part. I didn't have one of those.

At least that's what the kind officer told me when he said I was trespassing. Fortunately, no charges were filed and I was encouraged to go to my actual home in the 909.

bearbee said...

Just saw Forbes 400 listing with Oprah at #141 with a meager $2.3 billion.

Chicago made both O's.

Illinois is the same economic disaster as CA.

Report: 10 states face looming budget disasters

Anonymous said...

They are all for rich folk paying high taxes

No. They are for OTHER people paying taxes.

traditionalguy said...

At Lake Tahoe mostly down and out poor folks live on the California side, but over on the Nevada side the true rich with their Security Guards are dominant every where. That's right, there is no Nevada state income tax.

bearbee said...

ps....Wisconsin included in the 10 state list.

Anonymous said...

And what of her fans in South Chicago - the ones south of Hyde Park?

Is she just going to leave them behind in the cold?

Like a heartless Republican - just like that?

KCFleming said...

The left seems incapable of learning, even from their own behavior.

Incentives matter.
Ignoring actual human responses to incentives is always disastrous, but they tax and regulate via perverse incentives regardless.

It's Sowell's vision of the anointed again and again.

MadisonMan said...

Anyone who lives in Wisconsin knows the budgetary problems here have a long way to go before they are fixed. It's been a systemic problem for years.

Let's just say I don't expect a raise for at least 5 years.

Paddy O said...

Maybe you should add a Sarah Palin tag.

That question at the end of Oprah's interview with Palin does seem a bit more interesting now with this news.

bearbee said...

Estimates are that collectively states will be experiencing annual deficits from $500-$700 billion.

Who is going to bail out the taxpayer?

Taxpayers should be able to sue governments when budgets are not bslanced.

I'm Full of Soup said...

I heard her show employs 600 people. That sounds like a ginormous number just to produce a one-hour talk show?

Original Mike said...

Report: 10 states face looming budget disasters


Wisconsin officials issued a statement late Wednesday saying the Pew report was inaccurate. Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Michael Morgan said the state has balanced its budget by cutting spending and raising revenue. It projects a $270 million budget surplus for the period ending July 1, 2011, Morgan said in his statement.

Wiconsin balanced its budget with gimics and stimulus money. I bet Wisconsin has as much of a chance of achieving Morgan's budget surplus as I have getting an Althouse tag. Any takers?

I'm Full of Soup said...

Paddy O:

Are you thinking Palin could step in the void Oprah leaves behind when she retires?

I'm Full of Soup said...

I don't think aggregate state deficits could be much more than $100 Billion annually. PA is 4% of the US population and its deficit should be maybe $2-3Billion If that reflects the rest of the states, the aggregate deficit would be $50-$75 Billion [25 x 2 = 50, 25 x 3 =75].

Original Mike said...

Thank God (actually, thank the Republicans) that the Democrats in the state legislature did not pass DoyleCare a couple of years ago or Wisconsin would be at the top of that list now.

ricpic said...

...I have a mansion...

I keep telling her and telling her not to signify, but you can't take the ghetto out of the girl.

Paddy O said...

"Are you thinking Palin could step in the void Oprah leaves behind when she retires?"

I'm wondering if this is what Oprah is thinking, as her retirement announcement was certainly in her mind at the time. I wonder how Palin would have answered Oprah's question had the retirement been common knowledge.

I think Palin could step in, but I don't know if she would step in.

"Next time, on Palin" does have a sort of ring to it. First episode: Katie Couric and Palin's Book Club.

kjbe said...

Doesn't Florida have some kind of real estate tax shelter setup for the uber-rich?

AllenS said...

Sorry, MadMan. If the state is paying out more money than it is taking in, you not getting a raise won't fix it. Lowering the wages of state workers, like yourself, will be a move in the right direction. Same goes with the pay that The Althouse Woman gets from the U.

Original Mike said...

AllenS: Why did you choose to use your mug shot as your avatar?

Bissage said...

Chicago’s days have been numbered pretty much ever since Pizzeria Uno went national.

JohnAnnArbor said...

Uno's closed in Ann Arbor long ago.

MadisonMan said...

Allen, wages were cut 3% this year already.

If I didn't love my job, I'd be bummed.

AllenS said...

Mike,

I went to Somerset, WI post office to apply for a passport card. They took the picture. Along with the passport card, they also sent me the picture that they took. I call it my mugshot because the FBI also has it, and, well, it looks like a mug shot. I hope that I'll be allowed back into the country. I look like kind of a dirty bastard, don't I?

Wince said...

Opra Winfrey naked on a cold day!

Opra Winfrey naked on a cold day!

Original Mike said...

I hope that I'll be allowed back into the country.

I don't know. They might mistake you for Nick Nolte.

I need a new passport photo. I think I'll avoid the Somerset post office. ;-)

Lockestep said...

AJ Lynch said:

I don't think aggregate state deficits could be much more than $100 Billion annually. PA is 4% of the US population and its deficit should be maybe $2-3Billion If that reflects the rest of the states, the aggregate deficit would be $50-$75 Billion [25 x 2 = 50, 25 x 3 =75].

A couple of things to consider here, AJ. First, one-time stimulus handouts reduced the state deficits. Your state of PA used over 2 billion in federal cash to paper over the hole. 2010 projection is in the 5 billion range for PA.
But even so, there are states who are still burning cash without caring how they will deal down the road. New York is looking at a 21 billion shortfall - more than a third of their budget. California is in the insane category, with over 50 billion in red ink. That's more than half their budget. Other prime offenders for ostrich behavior are Arizona, Illinois, Nevada, Maine and New Jersey, all with a deficit over 30% of the general fund budget. These five along with NY and CA are looking at over 100 billion by themselves.

wv: gunditi - the tune you hum while firing your Glock.

AllenS said...

I need Chip Ahoy to put my name and some numbers on a small placard with my picture. How cool would that be?

former law student said...

Poor Chicago. First the Olympics, then Jerry Springer (Connecticut lured him with economic incentives), and now Oprah.

On the other hand, Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson reunited to celebrate thirty years after they first did the news.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Lockstep:

I agree with you if the PA deficit is more like $5 Billion. Because we have a very slimy lawyer as governor and he knows how to hide or disguise bad news.

Original Mike said...

Way cool.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

I'm a firm believer in the idea that you can tell what a person is really about from what they do. Ignore what they say, watch what they do.

One vote doesn't count for much against avoiding millions in taxes, does it?

Oprah is really a small government conservative, isn't she?

jeff said...

"Oprah and her people have long limited the time she spends in Montecito so she doesn't exceed the number of days mandating her to pay exorbitant taxes as a California resident."

Now that's funny. Sad, but in a funny kind of way.

Unknown said...

Word is, Quayle, Oprah and the Bams are not getting along too well, so Chicago connections are breaking all the time. (via HotAir)

AJ, a TV show like Desperate Housewives, with one episode a week, employ about 250 crew, so the 600 is probably a good number.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Patca:

250 wow. I am surprised. Thanks for the info.

AllenS said...

If you watch The Oprah, they will give credits at the end of the show. All of them do, same with movies. They go by pretty fast, and if I remember right, they have to list everyone involved with the show. 600? 250? I don't think so.

WV: baschir

Baschir provided the sandwichs for The Oprah show.

The Crack Emcee said...

As I've always said, Oprah's sensitivity (not the pose of possessing any) is over-whelming. This is all the evidence anyone needs that all that NewAge "spiritual" work, with the skitzo Eckhart Tolle and others, really pays off in the Interpresonal Dynamics Dept..

Man, between her and Obama, Chicago has so much to be proud of.

I mean, being #1 - in being played for suckers - has to count for something, right?

former law student said...

Oprah's just following the trail blased by Hugh Hefner when he moved the Playboy Mansion years ago.

Chicago is quite tolerable if you can live somewhere else during January and February.

Oprah had her own restaurant in Chicago, the Eccentric, which was perhaps the birthplace of garlic mashed potatoes.

David said...

Florida said...

It reminds me of John Kerry. In Massachusetts, the state income tax is 5.3% ... but you have the option of paying a higher rate if you so choose of 5.5%.

Kerry always pays the lower rate.


Hey, that's just the small change. Teresa Heinz Kerry does not pay any income tax in Massachusetts on her multi-million dollar annual investment income

because . . . .

Teresa is still a resident of Pennsylvania for tax purposes!

Ralph L said...

Oprah owns the building and the production company, so it's more than just the crew and bookers, there's corporate overhead, security, maintenance, plus all the people hired to make Oprah feel "special."

$9,000,000,000 Write Off said...

There is no number of days test in California.

New York, yes, the IRC for non-citizens, yes, but not California. It has a "closer connection" test which is comprised of numerous factors indicating you're a resident (FTB version) or not a resident (taxpayer version). Somebody goofed.

Captcha: stiout? Like stay out?

Skipper50 said...

Perhaps Oprah's retirement (such as it is) marks the concurrent demise of the Obama reign.