“Raise OUR Taxes!”
Last year, our new governor—Pat Quinn—after the previously elected governor was impeached and convicted by the Illinois General Assembly proposed that the Illinois State individual income tax be raised from a fixed rate (with some exceptions) of 3% to a fixed rate (with a few more exceptions) of 5%. The proposal passed the Illinois State Senate but died in the Illinois State House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the State for this fiscal year has been operating at a deficit of billions of dollars and has not been paying its bills, including bills to the public schools and private businesses.
The budget for the coming fiscal year has not yet been passed. However, the projections are that, without some positive actions, the deficit for the coming year will be about 13 billion dollars. The governor’s proposed budget makes some cuts but does not come close to closing that projected deficit. The governor has proposed raising the income tax once again but seems now to be talking about a 1% increase instead of the proposed 2% increase of last year.
Last year’s proposal, if passed, would have been a rate increase of about 67%. This year’s proposed increase is a more “modest” increase of approximately 33%. Of course, most individuals would be more than satisfied with a one year increase of 33% in their personal income.
I have posted before that the Illinois State government is the major employer in Illinois. The employer in second place is the federal government. In fact, one has to go down to the fifth largest employer in the State before finally having a private company qualify for that position.
I have also posted that it is the height of fiscal irresponsibility to allow a government that has had deficit spending year after year, as the State of Illinois has had in the six years I have lived in the State, to increase taxes to allow it to spend even more money. The ONLY reasonable method to end fiscal irresponsibility is to require the government to CUT spending to balance the budget no matter how “painful” that action may be.
Just as sane people don’t increase the availability of alcohol to an alcoholic, neither do sane people increase the availability of money to a spendthrift (a spendaholic—my dictionary does not have this as a word. If it is not a word, I’m coining a new word because that is exactly what this government is—addicted to spending).
I was listening to the radio yesterday (April 21, 2010) when the news came on for the top of the hour news. It seems that there was a rally in Springfield (our State’s capital) to encourage our State legislators to take action on our budget. During the played sound bite, the crowd, estimated at 16,000 people, could be heard chanting “Raise our taxes!” “Raise out taxes!” Raise our taxes!”
I must confess, that was the first time I have ever heard citizens of any government imploring the government to raise their own taxes. And right after the filing deadline too! It would be like the patriots of the colonies dumping the tea into Boston harbor while screaming, “NOT TAXED ENOUGH!” “NOT TAXED ENOUGH!” “NOT TAXED ENOUGH!” “For our own good, raise our taxes for we are ‘NOT TAXED ENOUGH!’”
Who were these people who were demanding that their own taxes be raised? According to the news report, they were union members from various Illinois government employee unions and government employed teachers—two bus loads of teachers from Peoria alone! They are people who are paid with Illinois government funds! They are people who would rather have everyone, who pays taxes, pay more taxes rather that lose some government jobs as threatened by the governor’s proposed budget. They were demanding that the spendaholics give themselves more money to spend!
To the Illinois General Assembly and to Governor Pat Quinn:
DO NOT RAISE OUR TAXES BY ONE DIME!!! Live within your means just as we have to live within our means. KEEP YOUR HANDS OUT OF OUR POCKETS!!!
Last year, our new governor—Pat Quinn—after the previously elected governor was impeached and convicted by the Illinois General Assembly proposed that the Illinois State individual income tax be raised from a fixed rate (with some exceptions) of 3% to a fixed rate (with a few more exceptions) of 5%. The proposal passed the Illinois State Senate but died in the Illinois State House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the State for this fiscal year has been operating at a deficit of billions of dollars and has not been paying its bills, including bills to the public schools and private businesses.
The budget for the coming fiscal year has not yet been passed. However, the projections are that, without some positive actions, the deficit for the coming year will be about 13 billion dollars. The governor’s proposed budget makes some cuts but does not come close to closing that projected deficit. The governor has proposed raising the income tax once again but seems now to be talking about a 1% increase instead of the proposed 2% increase of last year.
Last year’s proposal, if passed, would have been a rate increase of about 67%. This year’s proposed increase is a more “modest” increase of approximately 33%. Of course, most individuals would be more than satisfied with a one year increase of 33% in their personal income.
I have posted before that the Illinois State government is the major employer in Illinois. The employer in second place is the federal government. In fact, one has to go down to the fifth largest employer in the State before finally having a private company qualify for that position.
I have also posted that it is the height of fiscal irresponsibility to allow a government that has had deficit spending year after year, as the State of Illinois has had in the six years I have lived in the State, to increase taxes to allow it to spend even more money. The ONLY reasonable method to end fiscal irresponsibility is to require the government to CUT spending to balance the budget no matter how “painful” that action may be.
Just as sane people don’t increase the availability of alcohol to an alcoholic, neither do sane people increase the availability of money to a spendthrift (a spendaholic—my dictionary does not have this as a word. If it is not a word, I’m coining a new word because that is exactly what this government is—addicted to spending).
I was listening to the radio yesterday (April 21, 2010) when the news came on for the top of the hour news. It seems that there was a rally in Springfield (our State’s capital) to encourage our State legislators to take action on our budget. During the played sound bite, the crowd, estimated at 16,000 people, could be heard chanting “Raise our taxes!” “Raise out taxes!” Raise our taxes!”
I must confess, that was the first time I have ever heard citizens of any government imploring the government to raise their own taxes. And right after the filing deadline too! It would be like the patriots of the colonies dumping the tea into Boston harbor while screaming, “NOT TAXED ENOUGH!” “NOT TAXED ENOUGH!” “NOT TAXED ENOUGH!” “For our own good, raise our taxes for we are ‘NOT TAXED ENOUGH!’”
Who were these people who were demanding that their own taxes be raised? According to the news report, they were union members from various Illinois government employee unions and government employed teachers—two bus loads of teachers from Peoria alone! They are people who are paid with Illinois government funds! They are people who would rather have everyone, who pays taxes, pay more taxes rather that lose some government jobs as threatened by the governor’s proposed budget. They were demanding that the spendaholics give themselves more money to spend!
To the Illinois General Assembly and to Governor Pat Quinn:
DO NOT RAISE OUR TAXES BY ONE DIME!!! Live within your means just as we have to live within our means. KEEP YOUR HANDS OUT OF OUR POCKETS!!!
posted by Christian Gunslinger at 4:33 AM
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