by: Diane Benjamin
Every McLean County resident will be asked to approve a 1% SALES TAX increase for schools. You do NOT need to choose a Democrat or Republican ballot to vote on this issue. Just ask for a non-partisan ballot.
Here is why you should Vote NO
1) This is a permanent tax. Your Property Taxes will not decrease!
2) The School Districts can borrow money based on the money they expect to receive in the future. If the expected revenue does not materialize because of a poor economy, bond payments will still be due. Your property taxes could be raised to make the payments
3) Enrollment is not growing at a high rate – just 3.7% in the last 10 years. In that time the money spent by the schools has increased 39%!
4) Sales taxes hit the poor the hardest.
Here’s an interesting chart:
Source: http://www.kiplinger.com/article/taxes/T054-C000-S001-where-do-you-rank-as-a-taxpayer.html
Did you know that an adjusted gross income of over $120,136 in 2011 was the top 10% of income in the country? Below are the top 50 salaries paid by district. Are you getting your money’s worth? When did taxpayers get the responsibility of creating wealth for educators? Are the schools graduating kids that reflect these salaries? Don’t forget, huge pensions go along with these salaries.
People are still suffering in this economy. Giving the schools a blank check isn’t what they need and NOT what we can afford.
These are from openthebooks.com.
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