04/16/2014
Scott Reeder
A group of folks protested outside my office the other day.
They waved signs supporting the creation of a progressive or “fair” income tax in Illinois.
The Illinois Policy Institute, the parent organization of Illinois News Network, thinks it would be bad policy to switch to a graduated income tax because it would be detrimental to the state’s economy, would unfairly penalize most taxpayers and because state government has not been fiscally responsible with what it does have.
I’ve also written columns opposing the tax hike.
Some of the protestors were hollering that we aren’t telling the truth about how the tax would affect middle-income people.
Well, everyone has a right to their own opinion, but not to their own facts.
The calculations we’ve used for what the progressive tax rates would be are those released by the bill’s sponsor state Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park.
If the demonstrators have a beef with the rates that are being discussed, well, they really ought to be protesting outside Harmon’s office, not ours.
If you would like to know how the progressive income tax would affect your family, go to www.unfairillinois.com and find out how much you would pay using the online calculator.
Again, the rates used in this online calculator are based on the bill sponsor’s proposal.
That said, I’m delighted that we live in a country where people can peaceably assemble, as did this group of religious and organized labor people.
But I get uncomfortable when folks on the left, or the right, start evoking “God’s will” for a particular fiscal policy decision. It comes off more than a bit sanctimonious.
Perhaps the most perplexing thing was why they were outside our office in the first place?
After all, the Illinois Policy Institute is a private entity.
Do they think folks will change their minds because a mob is outside our doors?
Think again.
Free speech is a beautiful thing, but it doesn’t mean it’s always effectively used.
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Scott Reeder is the libertarian Illinois Policy Institute’s Journalist in Residence. Prior to joining IPI, he covered state and local government for more than 25 years, receiving awards including the Clark Mollenhoff Award for Excellence in Investigative Reporting and the John Aubuchon Freedom of Information Award.