LP Illinois News - March 2009 #3
Just Say No to More Taxes
Governor Pat Quinn announced his budget plan for Illinois yesterday. The plan includes a 50% increase in the state income tax, a $1-a-pack increase in cigarette taxes, higher business taxes, and steeper fees for car registrations and driver's licenses.
There is never a good time for a tax hike, but when people are losing their jobs and their life savings at an alarming rate is the worst possible time.
Our Public Relations Chair, Kent McMillen, has already distributed a press release against the tax hike to newspapers across the state. You can find it at LPIllinois.org/media.
If you want more information about alternatives to raising taxes, visit the National Taxpayers United of Illinois website at NTUI.org and the Illinois Policy Institute at IllinoisPolicyInstitute.org. There you can find additional information and real solutions to solving the Illinois budget problem—solutions that cut government spending, instead of further burdening taxpayers and sending jobs out of Illinois.
Please call and write your Representatives and Senators (see ILGA.gov for contact info) and tell them "just say no to more taxes." This step is crucial--politicians do listen when angry voters keep their phones ringing and stuff their mailboxes. If you can, set up appointments, visit Springfield, and talk to your legislators in person--you can have a huge impact.
Tell your friends and family to contact their legislators as well. You can also write letters to the editor and post your rejection of these tax increases online. Feel free to reuse the information in the press release, the websites, or the samples below. Every action you take is needed and appreciated.
Sample letter, email, or phone call to legislators
In these difficult economic times it is wrong for the government to further burden the people of Illinois with additional taxes. Instead, the burden should be on our representatives to scrutinize every expense with the goal of eliminating it or finding ways to reduce the cost.
I call on you to use your leadership skills to eliminate the fat from our budget and make hard decisions regarding expenditures. Caterpillar recently announced another round of layoffs--our state workers should not be immune to similar cutbacks if that is what is necessary to preserve the financial health of our state.
This is not the time to play politics. Everyone is tightening their belts and it is time for the state to do the same. This is a make or break issue when it comes election time and will be a large factor in determining who I will vote for and support.
I urge you to take immediate action to stop all tax increases, bring our budget back in balance, and reduce the hardship on taxpayers like myself.
Sample Letter to the Editor
Everyone I know is looking for ways to spend less. Restaurant meals, clothing purchases, vacations, and more are all being cut in these difficult times. The exception is our politicians. In Washington, they are giving away hundreds of billions of our hard-earned dollars with no plan to account for it or pay for it. Now, the new governor of Illinois tells us we need a 50% income tax increase and a variety of other tax hikes to pay the bills. No, we don't. We don’t have an income problem in Illinois, we have a spending problem. Note to all politicians: stop spending and start belt-tightening. The party is over and we're watching. Tax hikers will be thrown out of office and it's tough out here in the real world to find a job.
Another way you can make your voice heard, literally, is to join the nationwide Tax Day Tea Party protest. It's scheduled for April 15 and all taxpayers are invited. In Illinois, Tea Parties are currently planned in Chicago and Champaign/Urbana. You can join those or take the lead in holding a Tea Party in your area. See TaxDayTeaParty.com for the details. If you would like to be a Libertarian point person for your protest, please contact Activism Chair, Val Vetter, at Activism@LPIllinois.org so we can coordinate our efforts.