Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson discusses funding for community services in interview with CBS News [Video]

What You Need To Know!

• Incoming Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson discusses the need for more community services to reduce crime and calls for more social workers, counselors, and EMTs to assist police.
• CBS News host Vladimir Duthiers questions Johnson about how he plans to pay for these services without raising taxes, including property taxes, which Johnson dismisses as a “lazy form of governance.”
• Johnson cites President Biden’s words that a teacher and a firefighter should not pay the same tax rate as a millionaire and a billionaire.

Brandon Johnson, the incoming Democratic mayor of Chicago, has emphasized the need for increased community services such as healthcare and youth employment in order to reduce crime.

Johnson, who beat Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas in a runoff election, has been accused by Vallas of wanting to defund the police, but Johnson has stated that he sees the need for police as well as more social workers, counselors, and EMTs to support them. In an interview with CBS News host Vladimir Duthiers, Johnson was questioned about how he plans to pay for these services without raising taxes, as Chicago is facing a major deficit in 2024.

Duthiers specifically asked about the possibility of raising property taxes, which Johnson dismissed as a “lazy form of governance.”

Instead, Johnson cited President Biden’s words from his State of the Union address, in which he argued that “a teacher and a firefighter should not pay the same tax rate as a millionaire and a billionaire.”

question of how to fund community services while avoiding tax hikes has been a contentious issue for policymakers at all levels of government, and Johnson’s comments reflect a broader debate about the role of taxation in funding public services.

While Johnson has emphasized the need for community services as a way to address crime and social problems in Chicago, the question of how to pay for them remains a central challenge for his administration.

Source: dailycaller.com