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Former Office Depot CEO Steve Odland on Illinois' effort to fix its budget gap by boosting its revenue by selling lottery tickets online.
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Well this is sad because right about now the state of Illinois essentially digging on to the top questions for some spare change.
Stunned that -- tax hike on businesses and individuals did not raise anywhere near the millions -- you know.
The State's democratic governors now apparently -- -- Internet lottery sales to do the trick.
The -- credit card to former office Depot's CEO.
Steve I'll good news no stranger to crunching numbers and probably -- of save the governor of the time in the effort by saying the numbers don't add up but here we go that's a pretty desperate move -- For the governor W.
Well clearly they're looking under rocks for money they need cash and this latest move is to be the first state.
To allow online.
Lottery sales and maybe they'll raise a little bit of money there hope is that there they'll get more people from Illinois playing the lottery and so they're up for the get more revenue.
You know some of the merchants think that they're gonna actually take the revenue and just move it around -- that some of these convenience stores and other people who are currently selling lottery tickets will make -- But -- the issue is they need money they have taken a strategy to raise taxes and raise spending and they're out of money in this strategy is not work.
What would you advise I mean you obviously builds and -- -- a juggernaut.
On the and you didn't do it by constantly raising the price it and you were competing with Staples and office Max and a host of other mean how you had to distinguish or differentiate -- added advised the governor.
Any government republic remember how you do that.
Clearly they have to cut spending -- -- have to cut taxes a survey of CEOs just a few months ago ranked Illinois at the bottom.
The bottom of all the fifty states.
In terms of business friendliness if you look at their taxes business taxes are among the five highest in the country and do you have governors -- -- you know -- going to a -- enemy now boards are all over the place and rapidly expanded.
The company all of didn't make a difference -- taxes -- -- -- well lucky you you've got you've got the state of Wisconsin in the state of Indiana.
Actively advertising to get Illinois companies to move and it's working so much sell.
Bit Illinois now is giving tax breaks to try to get companies to stay Sears is an example of that where they -- gonna move their headquarters.
And Illinois needed to buy them back so they need to cut their spending they need to get their fiscal house in order.
But this is just one sample -- going on -- around the country.
Our next week -- -- the United States is gonna become.
The number one highest business tax country in the world when Japan finally lowers their taxes so this is a microcosm of what's going on in the United States.
A high tax high spend situation strategy doesn't work and it's chasing businesses out.
Out of the states in the case of Illinois and out of the country in the in the case -- the United States and we need to -- sat in lower these taxes.
In -- you should consider running for office.
Any office matters though Steve thank you very much.
Thank you --
