Green Party Watch

Posted on Green Party candidate for IL governor, Rich Whitney’s facebook

Dear Fellow Illinoisans,

Thanks to the utterly irresponsible budgetary decisions of the Democrats and Republicans in State government, our public sector workers – social service workers, transportation workers, correctional workers, child and family service workers, educators, park service workers and many more – are now facing the devastating consequences of severe cuts to the state budget. Job cuts, cuts in income, mandatory furloughs, heavier caseloads, more stressful working conditions, etc., will be imposed on thousands of these hard-working employees, many of whom have already endured the impact of terrible cuts in recent years.

On top of that, our so-called representatives in Springfield once again chose to engage in the very practice that got us into this mess in the first place: Ignore the need for new revenue and tax reform, ignore the structural deficit, and try to patch up the holes in the sinking ship by borrowing still more money ($3.4 billion) and delaying paying the State’s bills ($3.2 billion), imposing even more hardship. Once again, they have chosen to impose an even greater impact on future taxpayers – our children, in other words – instead of facing up to their responsibility to deal with the problem.

Where do I stand on the budget issue? To answer this question I would like to share my response to an e-mail sent to me by a concerned public sector worker named Amy.

(Walter: see Rich’s reply after the jump)

From: “Amy _______”
To: Rich Whitney
Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2009 4:09 PM
Subject: state workers and union
I am a state worker. What is your position on AFSCME and state workers regarding lay-offs to lower the budget? I work in the Department of Corrections, specifically. I would consider supporting your campaign depending on your view.
Peace Amy

Hello Amy,
The short answer is that I believe it is unnecessary and backwards to be cutting public sector jobs, and especially so during a time of economic depression.

The fundamental problem in Illinois is that we have one of the most regressive tax systems in the United States, imposing the heaviest burden on those least able to pay. When all taxes are combined, we are taxing our lowest income workers at more than double the rate of the wealthiest one percent. It’s no mystery why we can’t adequately fund government. But the solution is not to cut state workers’ jobs or attack their pensions. The solution is to fix what’s wrong with our tax system so that we can restore health to the public sector. What neither (most) Democratic nor Republican representatives seem to understand is what the people (and the Green Party) understand all too well: We need a healthy public sector in order for the private sector to flourish.

That’s why I support proposals like the (2008 version) of HB 750, the best thought-out version of the “income tax for property tax swap.” A different version appears in this year’s HB 174, which isn’t quite as progressive but would still go a long way toward addressing the structural deficit without taking it out on workers.

The basic idea is that, yes, we do need a substantial increase in our income tax but that increase must be coupled with an increase in the earned income credit so that lower and middle-income workers pay either the same or less than they do now, while higher-income people pay their fair share, which they have not been doing under the current system. There also has to be a commitment to ensure that enough of the new revenue will be committed to education, not only for its own sake, but also so that we can finally provide real relief on our property taxes. Our over-reliance on property taxes has caused us to have among the most unequal public school systems in the United States, and it imposes an undue burden on homeowners of modest income.

The problem with the current governor’s proposal is that he simply proposed the income tax hike without addressing the other aspects of the problem. We don’t simply need a tax increase; we need a more comprehensive tax overhaul. I’m convinced that most Illinoisans will support such an overhaul if they understand that it will result in a more fair and equitable tax system that includes firm support for education and property tax relief.

Many of my ideas on the budget come from the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. If you go to its website, at http://www.ctbaonline.org/ , you will find very sound analyses of the problem and well thought out answers.

I have a few other ideas, such as establishing a state bank, like North Dakota has. (See:
http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/path-to-a-new-economy/bank-on-it-how-cash-starved-states-can-create-their-own-credit )

This is an old Progressive idea that needs to be revived. North Dakota is the only state that has its own bank and, as a result it is just about the only State that is not struggling with a deficit problem. In fact, with a population of just 600,000 people, it is now enjoying a surplus of $1.2 billion. All tax revenues go into the State bank, which then has the power to loan money and reap the benefits of interest income, utilizing a fractional reserve system like any commercial bank, while financing services and projects that support the public policy of the State. Instead of borrowing money from private banks, and paying it back to them, with interest, the State can be making money that can eventually lower the tax burden on the people.

The Green Party is the real party for working people. We aim to raise employment and living standards for working people, among our many other goals. You don’t do that by attacking the public sector and destroying socially necessary jobs. And we need to be elevating pension standards for all workers, not continuing to attack those of public sector workers.

The budget that just passed was a complete travesty that will impose serious hardship not only on state workers but on the hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans who depend on them. It also makes the budget shortfall worse by continuing to put off the day of reckoning. It is a disaster in every respect.
In this campaign, I will be fighting for the real solution that most Illinoisans understand is what we need and want: A better, fairer tax system that can adequately fund our schools (pre-K through college), infrastructure and necessary social services; a system that will also ease the burden on low- and middle-income workers and provide some property tax relief in the process. And I will be joined by record numbers of other Green candidates who will be fighting for the same agenda.

I hope you like my answer — but if you do have criticisms or suggestions, I am open to new ideas as well. Please feel free to share my answer with others. With your permission, I would like to do the same but I will omit your name if you prefer.

Thank you for your interest.

Peace to you as well,
Rich Whitney
Green Party candidate for Governor of Illinois

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 at 10:25 pm and is filed under Local Elections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.