Columnist always willing to lean on taxpayers

I feel compelled to weigh in after yet another Ralph Martire column, Aug. 11, based on canards and specious arguments. For the uninitiated, Martire's conclusion is always the same, whether the topic is education, public-sector pensions, or the "fair" tax - the taxpayers of Illinois are not providing sufficient levels of funding. He neglects to mention the fact that Illinois ranks second (behind New Jersey) in terms of cumulative tax burden, much of which is due to the onerous property taxes that are the primary source of funding for those very areas that Martire claims are underfunded.

In the private sector, organizations do not keep funneling increasing amounts of money into enterprises that are not providing the expected outcomes or return on investment. They first examine ways to do things more efficiently and effectively before simply throwing money at the problem. This is because leaders are held accountable to their stakeholders for the proper stewardship of the financial resources with which they are entrusted.

But in the ivory towers ("think tanks" and public university) where Martire operates, government can simply keep raising taxes because citizens and corporations don't have any choice (at least those unable to relocate) as long as those benefiting from the financial Ponzi-scheme that is Illinois governance keep electing Democratic supermajorities.

There is not enough space here to debunk the many questionable assertions made by Martire over the years. I recommend that DH readers (and Martire's students) review other sources of information (e.g. WSJ, Illinois Policy Institute) for a more nuanced, reasoned and less biased analysis of our financial predicaments so that they can be exposed to potential solutions that involve more than simply increasing the already significant flow from the state taxpayer spigot.

Rick Avgerinos

Itasca