Graphic:
Excerpt:
Illinoisans who thought new House Speaker Chris Welch might change the direction Illinois is headed in just got a dose of reality. Welch recently said he wants Illinois to have a second go at a progressive tax scheme, this time committing the tax hike proceeds to pensions. Illinoisans rejected Gov. Pritzker’s first attempt, he said, because they didn’t know where the tax hike dollars would go. “…folks don’t trust us,” Welch said.
Welch is right about the trust factor, but he’s wrong to think Illinoisans will suddenly approve a tax hike just because the legislature promises to funnel the new revenues to pensions. They know it’s unlikely politicians will keep their promise. And Illinoisans know the state’s unreformed pensions are a corrupted mess – that they’d be throwing good money after bad.
Author(s): Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
Publication Date: 2 March 2021
Publication Site: Wirepoints