Quinn is out of touch with taxpayers

Illinoisans are not buying Governor Quinn's gloom-and-doom talk that the state's public health system will crumble and public safety will be compromised if he isn't allowed to hike income taxes.

Much of the taxpayer distrust can be attributed to the fact that, quite frankly, there hasn't been much to show over the years for our tax dollars, even though per-capita government spending has grown 45 percent over the past decade. Does anyone feel like we have a 45 percent better government today?

Dipping into an already-ransacked public pension fund, hiking taxes in the middle of a recession, and continuing to spend money as if it comes from a bottomless trough is not a sustainable plan for Illinois.

Lawmakers should instead begin implementing policies that encourage the private sector to invest in the economy, rather than the government.

Gov. Quinn would be smart to read the Illinois Public Policy Institute's report, "Budget Solutions 2010: Balancing the Budget Without Tax Hikes," for sensible solutions that are friendly to taxpayers and the state's economy.

John Nothdurft

The Heartland Institute

Chicago