Is it too soon to breathe a sigh of relief over Illinois Democrats’ decision to put the brakes on their spendthrift liberal agenda by going belly up on the tax increase extension (see: Politicians Are Cowards Over Illinois Taxes)? Better hold your breath until after November. Madigan’s minions didn’t give up on anything and neither did Madigan. They just want us to think they did us a solid while they find another way to get their money.
Digging deeper: liberal agenda is a bottomless pit.
The same liberal agenda that brought Illinois residents a pension system for government workers that Croesus could not sustain finally proved to have limits. We didn’t think there was a bottom to the hole Democrats have been furiously digging downstate for years because the deeper that hole gets, the easier it is to justify higher and newer taxes. It was almost unthinkable that the Illinois House would throw in the towel on the higher state income tax. Don’t be fooled.
If people in Illinois know anything, they know that there is no ceiling to who, what, and how much can be taxed. The limit to taxation is not what state residents will tolerate, but what legislators can stomach as their knees get wobbly when they go too far and fear for their careers. When that happens, we get the appearance of doing the right thing while lawmakers take time to regroup for the next assault.
Illinois Democrats turn to Robin Hood minimum wage hoax.
Taxes are not the only way to spread the wealth around. Not all taxes look like taxes.
With an above the national average unemployment rate and sky high sales tax, Chicago would seem to be a poor bet to test drive a minimum wage $5.00 higher than even Democrats in Springfield seek approval for with a November ballot advisory.
Was it sympathy for the minimum wage protesters who were hauled off to jail in front of McDonald’s headquarters last week? Only legislators gullible or foolish enough to swallow living wage propaganda would fail to consider what that living wage will mean to their constituents when businesses compensate for higher labor costs. Of course, they don’t seem to have considered what other taxes and fees do to low income Illinoisans, so perhaps this was never a consideration.
Illinois Democrats claim that they want to help their disadvantaged constituents. Their concern shows when the sales tax is raised to unsustainable levels in Chicago and representatives dream up new taxes like the recently killed proposal for a per ounce levy on soda or increases to the cigarette tax. Do they believe that these kinds of revenue generators don’t target the lower incomes protected by their liberal agenda? Do they think the wealthy buy a lot of 40 oz. sodas at fast food restaurants?
If Mike Madigan gets his millionaire tax on the ballot there will be two advisory referenda that could ultimately raise prices and cost jobs if they empower legislators to do the wrong thing at the right time. If the minimum wage referendum gets a resounding yes and spurs the Chicago City Council to go for a $15.00 minimum, will downstate Democrats be shamed into reaching even higher to artificially raise incomes?
Two things we learned about Illinois’ liberal agenda.
We learned two things last week. First, Pat Quinn is just a figurehead. It is sad to watch a governor who puts his all into mimicking Obama’s speeches be put in his place by his own party when members decide that keeping their jobs is more important than backing his tax increase. Second, we learned who really holds the power in Illinois, though most of us already knew. We’ve had plenty of time to find out. He was first elected House speaker in Springfield in 1983.
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