Illinois 2010 Budget: Tax Increase Can be avoided

A lot of citizens of Illinois are feeling the pinch these days. Increasing taxes to pay for spending which increased greatly due to both good times and Governor Blagojevich while the economy now sputters seems sheer folly. In Maryland, a recent tax increase resulted in a large number of the wealthy simply vanishing. While this disappearance may have been to hard times, the suspicion is simply that they moved. We don't need this in Illinois, where the the Illinois Policy Institute points out that Illinois is spending 21% more than it takes in.

Is it is possible to balance Illinois' budget without a "doomsday" scenario? The Illinois Policy Institute has written a 27 page article which shows how the state budget could be balanced without a tax increase. The Tribune has already endorsed the plan. In addition, the Civic Federation has a 96 page analysis of the 2010 Illinois budget complete with recommendations.

Let's hope that our legislature can use some common sense, and not beleaguer the hard-pressed people of this state with an additional income tax burden. It's good to know that there are solutions. What we can hope for is that they will be adopted.