Trust Springfield with more of our money?

In 1913, politicians endeavored to extract Americans' money by legalizing an income tax, rather than living within their means. They promised: "This is only a 1% tax on the top 1%. It won't affect you." There are two problems with that: taxing other people affects you: those people might employ you or buy your products/services, and taxes quickly increased and expanded to directly impact most Americans, reaching a top rate of 77% by 1918.

Today, Illinois politicians who refuse to live within their means expect you to believe the same promise.

Just as the U.S. Constitution's 16th Amendment does not say "only the top 1% pay income tax," the Illinois amendment will not say "only the top 3% pay more; your taxes will never increase." It merely makes it easier to raise rates on everyone, hurting our economy.

Politicians also want you to believe that this will solve the budget problems. They said the same thing two years ago and six years ago, when passing the two largest tax increases in state history.

Yet their own ads admit we still have a "budget crisis." If we keep giving them more money, they will never learn to live within their means. Like a drug addict, they will always spend it faster than they can collect it, and we'd become enablers of their addiction, magnifying the problem.

It is up to us to save our state from the exodus. Tell your state rep and state senator to find the courage to implement the real solution - control spending - before you trust them with more of your money.

Al D'Ambrosio

Glen Ellyn