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CHICAGO – Senate Majority Whip, Richard J. “Dick” Durbin (D) is abusing his political power, forcing corporations to continue paying the extraordinarily high Illinois and U.S. corporate tax rates, according Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United of Illinois (TUA).
“Stephen Moore, chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, was overly-polite in calling Durbin ‘The Senate’s lead political thug and lead political henchman,’ said Tobin. Durbin is a left-wing low-life who could comfortably fit into Castro’s regime.”
“Politicians and government bureaucrats believe that taxpayer dollars belong to them, not to the persons and companies who earned them. So, when a corporation such as Walgreens tries to save its shareholders $4 billion over five years by moving its headquarters to Switzerland, he bullies them into staying and paying the high Illinois and U.S. corporate taxes.”
Durbin is celebrating the Walgreens shakedown, says Moore, pointing out that the big losers were the shareholders — including thousands and thousands of middle class Americans — whose retirement funds include Walgreens stock. The stock fell in the 24 hours after the announcement by more than 10 percent and so shareholders lost at least $6 billion on the announcement, according to Moore. “That’s a lot of financial wreckage from one single senator,” Moore added.
Durbin is up for reelection this November, and although Illinois is a solidly Democratic state, Moore states, “Don’t be surprised if fed up Illinois voters have tired of Durbin’s ham-handed antics and his economic illiteracy.
The Chicago Tribune points out that Durbin has a new target as he tries to halt American firms from moving corporate headquarters overseas to cut their tax bills: Hospira, a Lake Forest-based company that makes injectable drugs and infusion products. Durbin wrote the Hospira CEO a letter urging him not to take the firm’s tax dollars overseas.
“Durbin may be a hero to entrenched labor unions,” said Tobin, “but he is an embarrassment and a detriment to our state and to the U.S. Senate. He is so over-the-top in his left-wing rants that even Democrats are edging away from him. This November is our chance to dump Durbin and elect a senator who isn’t a thuggish ideologue whose policies cost jobs and economic freedom, stunting growth.”