Walmart’s Customers Too Broke To Shop
I am positive that most of our bloggers do shop at Walmart but not necessarily in Peru which relies very heavily on retail sales tax. Most of the retail outlets do have an online presence and this article stresses the importance of their online end of their business. Amazon is the giant of online business for the average person who does shop online, true? Walmart at one time offered free shipping to the store but not sure if that is still a policy as the last time we ordered something there was a shipping cost.
Recently we had family here visting from Colorado and they were amazed that we had 4 stores open 24 hours a day. In their location Walmart stores are now closing at midnight. In Peru, there is Walmart, Hyvee, Walgreens and CVS all open 24 hours a day. Is this a needed service ? All are private corporations and can make their own decision and maybe due to their location on major Illinois highways, it is profitable for them to be open 24 hours a day.
Are our elected officials in serious discussions about the possibility of one day local retail sales tax may not always be the Cash Cow that it is now? Considering some of the frivilous expenditures they engage in, it does not seem to be so. I understand that Illinois would like to increase their gas tax by .30 per gallon and if that bill should pass, is it time for Peru officials to stop the department heads from having the use of their city vehicles unless they pay for the gas used while not being on city business and perhaps a portion of the upkeep. Is it time to start thinking about the residents and not abusing the tax dollars collected by the city?
My pot pourri collection of things to think about.
19 comments:
I have always wondered why we need so many city employees need their own vehicle. Why can't we have one or two left parked at city hall and used whenever an individual needs to check out a job? And my biggest question - "why do they all need gas guzzling SUV's"?
First---you need that to really happen before you shout abuse. Is there any evidence that city employees are using city vehicle for their own use? Please before you say criminal, make sure you have the evidence.
Peru City Hall needs a new flag.
I am not sure why there is so much criticisms from a few about Peru thirst for sales tax. Any and every city would like to use the Peru model of low real-estate taxes off-set by the sales tax. Its a big bonus to those living in Peru. Yes, its true that sales tax may not be there forever! And dips happen in the economy, just like in 2008. The hope is that the conservatives in office will continue to hold the line on expenses.
Added to that and the original post is the ridiculous concept that we have "high" sales taxes. No. We don't. Ours are about average and in Peru we are very fortunate to be in the position we are in. Every town wants to increase it's sales tax base and of course bring any other industry in we can. I have never seen anything like on here when people hate like this. Every town gets whatever they can in their city borders. Peru is no different, aside from being the most successful at it.
"low real-estate taxes off-set by the sales tax" - I hate how everyone talks about property tax as if that is the only thing that really matters. High sales tax impacts the average person much more than property tax. They just don't know it because they pay it every day. Then there are the other 99 taxes that we pay every day. The City of Peru could double their property tax and it would be a very small percentage of my - and probably most people's - TOTAL tax bill.
The City of Peru and the State of Illinois are nickel and diming us to death!
Peru elected officials do not have a taxing problem. They definately have a chronic "spending" problem. Wasting a load of money on unnecessary hiring and the salaries and benefits they are paying to all those hires. Please don't try to sell that phony line that payroll is down. It's not down. It's up overall and they continue to invent new positions and hire assistants for those positions.
4:06 Double your real-estate tax? And then your water rates and your electric rates. The point of the real-estate tax bill is that in Peru you could double or triple your rates and still not get close to other local towns. Multiply your Peru tax by 7 and then tell me what your bill is. That is the rate of others. The point is that Peru has lower taxes and that puts more money in your pocket. Sales tax is choice, real-estate tax is not.
7:36 you are lying again. Payroll IS down. It is people like you who perpetuate lies that sound good to people who don't know better when they see a job advertised. Peru has a huge infrastructure for a town its size to support the commercial and retail areas. That is a good thing, and they actually do it pretty efficiently. Payroll is down. Some people are doing two jobs.
4:06 sales taxes are NOT high. They are average and well below other shopping destination communities like yours. By that I mean people from a radius come around and shop. Look it up. It's not even close.
Lies are wrong either direction. Criticize what you want but Peru is the envy of countless communities for many reasons, including low taxes all the way around. They aggressively try to bring in new business and no one on here talks about what does come in, including the development by the river. Crazy.
I'll get called a "Peru Cheerleader" or an "insider" in 3...2...1...
I totally agree with 7:36. Payroll is not down and it seems as though as fast as we bring in the money we're spending it on more and more vehicles and more and more assistants. I see a lot of wasteful spending around town.
9:08. What is the net increase in positions? Please let us know. I know it is down but I want to see how much you try to make up stuff about wasteful spending?
Please let us know the increase in city employees over the last, lets say five years. I look forward to your answer.
Once you give us your answer and show us all the waste, then why don't you run for office with your plan to reduce it? I'm all for cutting waste but I like FACTS not made up crap that "you see."
someone please foia payroll totals and compare and put an end to this. thank you
9:07 AM, We don't have to call you anything. You know what you are and you also know why you defend the status quo. We also know the truth because we have eyes and a brain. "Low information voters" aka "low information citizens" are exactly what you and your pals at 4th & Fulton depend on to stay in power. People don't pay attention to what you phonies are up to and you thrive on that ignorance.
9:31. If you stand by the statement that payroll has increased, I have news for you. YOU are the low information voter. You are clueless and typical of the few hateful people left on the blog. You spread lies and misinformation and resort to making derogatory comments when you lose an argument, which is pretty much every time.
Payroll is down 9:31. Prove me wrong. Please.
One more thing 9:31. I have nothing to do with city hall. No connections. I am, unfortunately for you, a very well informed voter. I have eyes and a brain as well. You on the other hand, just repeat what you have heard even when it is false.
I will sit here and wait while you prove me wrong. Please. I look forward to it.
We need more sales tax! Don't your read the paper?
10:15, You are, unfortunately for you, a clueless enabler of a status quo system of corrupt Peru government practices. An acceptor of an inefficient and bloated local government bureaucracy that grows itself by graft and patronage to sustain itself and to keep rubber-stamp encumbent aldermen in office to ensure the gravy train of cronyism rolls on uninterrupted. You 10:15 AM, and other "meatheads" like you are a big part of what is wrong with Peru. You have no clue how great Peru really could be with honest, energetic, and innovative city officials. You are convinced that Peru exudes greatness but you really have no idea what a truly great community looks like. Have you used your eyes and brain to identify "great cities" and what makes them great? You and the current narrow-minded and lazy group of elected and appointed officials in Peru believe local government exists exclusively to perpetuate more local government and to distribute tax dollars to connected local contractors and businesses via the inherently faulty trikle-down economic theory. You have no clue what a tremendous quality of life could be realized with the resources at hand in Peru. You keep the bar set low and keep your expectations of Peru government to achieve only the status quo. Peru actually has the resources and therefore the potential to be a great community. However, when the Peru electorate is satisfied (as you appear to be) and you have no desire to see your city improve you will get exactly what you want. Same old shit, just a different day!
12:29, you wouldn't know what a great community is sitting behind your little computer and trying to use big words to impress nobody. You make statements without merit thinking you know something, believe me you don't. Stay behind your little computer and try to write some more creative writing, but come up with facts not innuendo.
We need to merge with LaSalle.
How do you know if you only think you know? What is merit thinking? Little computer or big computer? The answers to this and more @ HarlSaidWaldorfSaid dot com.
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