State budget crisis dismaying

To the editor,

Many of us are dismayed by the current budget crisis in Springfield. In May, our legislators passed a budget that slashes funding for critical social services. Gov. Quinn vetoed it; the legislature gets a chance to override that veto, and if they do, he must deal with whatever budget they then send him. (Anyone, please correct me if this is inaccurate.)

Gov. Quinn believes that an income tax increase for individuals and corporations is the best solution, although it’s not yet clear (as of this writing) what else he wants in a budget.

I would like to respectfully propose the following solution to this impasse and the financial mess we now face: our revenue system must be changed. Of course this idea has been around for a long time in different forms, and perhaps now its time has come.

A new tax system for Illinois should generate enough revenue to resolve the budget deficit while also insuring tax fairness, addressing the growing inequality in our current system. Working families bear too heavy a burden of state and local taxes.

Increasing taxes on low-income families weakens the economy. (High-income people spend only a fraction of their income, and a tax increase would result in them saving less and consuming the same amount. But increasing taxes on low-income people results in their consuming less; they don’t earn enough to save. Obviously, less spending does not stimulate the economy.)

Fairness for low and moderate income taxpayers could be insured by an increase in standard tax exemptions and a child tax credit.

Cutting state spending in an economic crisis is more harmful to our state’s economy than raising income taxes. Budget cuts reduce the total level of spending and make the recession and resulting job losses even worse. The proposed budget cuts to vital social services are not only inhumane, they are ineffective.

I hope and pray that Gov. Quinn and the Illinois legislature are able to resolve their differences soon and pass a realistic budget that protects social services and jobs without the damaging effects of deep cuts.

In the meantime, we can all watch the action in Springfield closely, contact Mr. Bost, Mr. Luechtefeld and the governor to urge open-minded cooperation without partisan warfare, and hope for the best.

Sincerely, Loretta Vincent, Cobden