New county tax will suffocate economy

Last Friday, the taxpayers of this county were dealt a huge blow. Once again, when we had the opportunity to force Cook County government to live within its means, special interest groups swayed the deciding vote to raise our sales tax by 1 percentage point and allowed "business as usual" to continue.

With every item residents of this county purchase increasing at excessive rates, the taxpayers must work harder, longer and make greater sacrifices every day to meet their expenses. Why shouldn't our government be forced to do the same thing?

While other units of government speak of economic stimulation, we decide to provide economic suffocation.

Consumers will now be forced to purchase goods and services from outside of Cook County.

The purchase of the average new automobile will now cost $312 more in Cook County. Businesses will close and thousands of residents will lose their jobs.

As a result, we will lose property tax revenue and the burden will be shifted to Cook County residents.

This is not a doomsday scenario, simply reality.

It won't happen overnight and the results of this offensive tax will be blamed on other events.

I cannot support a bloated budget that protects the politically advantaged and promotes government waste.

Cook County Compliance Administrator Julia Nowicki recently filed a report saying the Stroger Administration has not done enough to prevent illegal political hiring.

At this point, why should we trust that Cook County government will do the right thing with our tax dollars?

I voted against the tax increases and President Stroger's budget because the taxpayers have no confidence in the way Cook County government is run. Until we cut the size of this bloated work force and turn it into a more efficient system, Cook County government does not deserve another dime.

Timothy O. Schneider

County Commissioner

Bartlett