The Fair Tax was not a tax hike, it was not a Pritzker tax, it was not a power grab, it was not an increase in legislative powers, it was not a referendum on how Springfield is performing, it was not an invitation to tax and spend, and it was not out of line with the rest of America.
It was an attempt to get us out of the 19th century. We have had a progressive income tax nationally for 107 years. It was an attempt to get us in line with almost all states that have an income tax, which is almost all states. Yes, even Iowa, hardly a bastion of progressivism, has a graduated income tax.
It was an attempt to change one word, “flat”, in our 1970 state constitution to “graduated.” It was an attempt to allow 97% of the population to pay a lower tax rate than the top 3% of earners. It was an attempt to align our state and federal income taxes.
No one is denying that Springfield has problems. Lack of pension reform, 7,000 plus units of redundant local government, a gerrymandered map that allows many representatives to have no competition, and massive debt, are some of the many problems that Springfield has not fixed. But this amendment had nothing to do with fixing any of these. This amendment was a mere attempt to get us into the 20th century, as President Wilson successfully did with his progressive agenda in 1913.
I am surprised that the majority of Illinois citizens do not know enough about history to counteract the claims made in ads paid for by the top 1% of income earners that were erroneously substantiated by many editorials.
Jan Goldberg
Riverside
