Fritz Pfister

The Illinois governor’s plan to raise taxes on the backs of businesses has increased from six billion dollars to seven point eight billion dollars. This is being done so the governor can provide property tax relief of 1.8 billion dollars. Rob Peter to pay Paul seems to be the plan. The governor continues to promote his gross receipts tax (GRT) as a fairness plan. The facts, and truth are not on the governor’s side.

Business groups, trade organizations, farm groups, and even Jessie Jackson have provided evidence of the economic disaster a GRT would have upon the Illinois economy. There is no question that businesses will fail, leave the state, cut jobs, or pass along the cost of the GRT to consumers if passed into law. Family farmers, low, and middle income families will be harmed the most. The opposite of what the governor is claiming.

The governor is steeped in the socialist philosophy that the government can be all things to all people, and pay for it with other peoples money. The goal to provide all Illinoisans with health insurance is a noble cause, however the means proposed is a disaster. The GRT is like the herbicide Round Up, it will kill those unsightly weeds, and everything else it touches. Instead of doing the hard work, getting on your knees to pull the weeds, and saving the life around them, you take the easy way out and kill everything. The governors GRT will be like spraying Round Up on the economy.

The governor’s good intentions will cause thousands of job losses, stifle new business development, drive the family farmer closer to extinction, and raise prices on all goods and services to every Illinois citizen. The governor should learn the lessons of history to understand the folly of his proposals. A growing economy, increasing the number of jobs, will increase the revenue going to the state. Manage the funds properly, prioritize spending, and do the hard work to find a solution to the health care issue. The largest tax increase in history is not a solution, it will exacerbate the problem.

While traveling for the Easter holiday we drove through Indiana. What an awe inspiring sight to see progress and development. Indiana repealed their GRT, and has placed the goal of being the most business friendly state at the top of their priorities. Enter Indianapolis from the east to see the construction of new highways, a new stadium dwarfing the RCA dome, and countless new residential developments to house the employees of new and expanding businesses. I wonder if all this growth is increasing or decreasing state revenues?

Instead of touring the state of Illinois in a bus to promote his plan, the Illinois governor should take a tour of an effectively run state, Indiana. Instead he prefers to drive the Illinois economy over a cliff. But his intentions were good.

The people of Illinois will survive, but never thrive if the GRT is passed into law. When new business development ceases, businesses close, businesses leave the state, thousands are laid off so the business can afford the tax, businesses pass along the tax to the consumer, when home values fall while the price of all other goods increases; only then will the truth be known about the governor’s plan. It will be a fairness plan, equal opportunity suffering.

Forward this blog to all your friends. Have them contact their representatives to oppose the economic insanity proposed by the governor. If this plan becomes law we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves.