Vote NO 2 TAX APRIL 7th

Vote NO 2 TAX APRIL 7th

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Vote no on school sales tax to help save Illinois

LAWRENCE BAY had the following letter in the January 29 Dispatch/Argus. It also appeared in the February 1 Quad City Times. .... marks paragraph breaks. "On April 7 we will once again vote on the 1 percent school facilities sales tax for Rock Island County that we rejected in 2009 and 2014. The arguments for and against will remain the same. ..... Many may not understand how this sales tax will hurt Illinois governments. Consider a $1,0000 purchase such as appliances, electronics or furniture. Currently a sales tax of $62.50 goes to the state of Illinois and $12.50 goes to Moline or Rock Island. With the added 1 percent the sales tax will be 8.5 percent as opposed to 7 percent in Iowa. Consumers would then pay $15 less in sales tax per $1,000 by shopping in Iowa. ..... That would mean that $60 in state sales tax would now go to Iowa and Iowa schools would receive $10 while our Illinois cities and the state would lose $75. ..... Think people don't shop where taxes are lower? Count the Illinois license plates at Iowa gas stations! Thousands of Illinoisans daily buy fuel in Iowa to save $2-$3 per 10 gallons. How many more would shop in Iowa to save $15 per $1,000? Many prudent Illinois consumers may decide to do most of their shopping and dining in Iowa where sales taxes are so much lower. ..... Illinois governments cannot afford to lose this sales tax revenue. Many Rock Island County businesses cannot afford this loss of revenue. To keep Illinois competitive we must vote NO on April 7. For more information visit voteno2tax.blogspot.com."

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

RICo voter must see a plan before backing any new taxes

Dr. Richard L. (Bud) Phillis had the following letter in the January 28, 2015 Dispatch/Argus. All government agencies that have taxing authority never seem to be able to live with the revenue raised from taxes. Periodically more taxes are requested via ballot measures. Tax issues need to be addressed across the board. ..... Most taxing bodies often are able to find money for items they feel are important with the money that is available. ..... The Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce is discussing a plan to increase the appeal of the Q-C area to businesses and topnotch young professionals. One of the items on their agenda is a 1 percent sales tax across the Q-C area. ..... Most people are aware that the state of Illinois has critical financial problems which seem to require spending cuts, some type of new revenue, public employee pension reform, and growth of businesses and people to be paying taxes. ..... The schools of the area are again asking for a sales tax increase. ..... Last on this list concerns the Rock Island County Board. Over the past decade they have managed to reduce a reserve of over $10 million to about $1 million. The board is going to return using a manager to run Hope Creek Care Center; which was done before and failed. Why do members think it will be any different this time? Has anyone noted that we have not heard about the courthouse recently? Why? A plan for all these things needs to be presented to the voters, such as me, before a decision can be made on which item/s to vote for to raise taxes."

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Make schools live within budgets, vote no April 7

Richard Rogers wrote the following letter to the editor published in the January 27 Dispatch/Argus. "Here we go again, the schools are asking for more money after being told no. ..... Schools need to live within their budget, just as do the residents of Rock Island County. If the schools did not spend millions of dollars to build new schools, then they would not have to raid the wallets of the taxpayer. Increasing the sales tax will increase spending across the river. ..... An increase in sales tax would harm residents just as the economy has begun to recover, 1 percent more on gas, and $2 a gallon won't last long and it will go up. ..... Rather than demand more money, change how money is spent. Combine all schools under one administration to avoid duplicated wasteful spending with multiple offices and staff. The superintendent of San Diego Schools is paid about $250,000 a year for more than 130,000 students, yet Rock Island, Moline and Sherrard pays at least $175,000 each with a county total of perhaps 11 percent of the 130,000. Makes no sense. ..... Just say NO again and again. ..... Those of us who are retired or work cannot demand more money because we spend more than our income. ..... We have to adjust; the schools need to adjust."

Friday, January 23, 2015

Don't give shoppers more reasons to shop in Scott County

BILL COULTER of CEI Power Equipment in Moline wrote the following letter in the March 21, 2009 Dispatch. His words are still true today. "The proposed 1 percent sales tax increase for Rock Island County is being tossed about as a savior for the schools in the county. I've been in several of the schools and I agree that they could use some paint and some TLC. I don't agree, however, with the arguments I'm hearing via the media regarding the sales tax increase. ..... I've heard it said that a "measly" 1 percent will not affect sales. I wonder how they figure that out. The increase will raise the costs of the goods I sell anywhere from $3.50 to $37. How's that not a deterrent in any competitive business? If price differences this minor (their words) don't affect sales, why do Iowa businesses off the I-74 bridge place banners shouting the message that their fuel is cheaper/their cigarettes are cheaper and why do I see so many cars with Illinois license plates there? The truth is some people already plan their trips to Iowa and while there, they are sure to fill up since it's cheaper and they already were in Iowa. This proposed tax increase of 1 percent will only help Iowa stores like NorthPark and only hurt the stores in RICO. ..... How many more empty store fronts do they consider acceptable in Rock Island County? ..... The fairest way to raise taxes on a business is to do so without hurting retailers on either side of the rive. If Iowa can do it, why can't Illinois? Please, stop giving shoppers more reasons to shop in Scott County. If you don't, you're sending more Illinois money to Scott County stores and the taxes they collect benefit Scott County schools. I'm sure the people of Scott County will appreciate additional tax revenue should this increase pass."

Look At Colona

In 2013 Henry County voters were told that the one percent school facilities sales tax would shift the burden away from property taxes to a more painless way in which outside visitors would take on the burden of financing Henry County schools and Henry County property owners would find relief. Henry County voters believed these promises and voted to accept the one percent school facilities sales tax. How has that worked in Henry County? The Colona school board wants an INCREASE OF $363.33 in the property tax bill on a $100,000 home! The Annawan school board voted a 9.58 percent in the property tax levy which would result in an increase of $53.00 in the property taxes on a $100,000 home. Other Henry County school boards have also raised their property tax levies far higher than the rate of inflation. And these Henry County school boards are raising the property tax levies every year! REAL ESTATE TAXES ARE ALMOST CONFISCATORY AND YET THE SCHOOL BOARDS ARE NEVER SATISFIED! GIVEN ALL THE MONEY IN THE UNIVERSE, OUR SCHOOLS WILL NOT IMPROVE AND THEY WILL STILL CRY OUT FOR MORE MONEY! MEANWHILE, THE GULLIBLE HENRY COUNTY VOTERS ARE STUCK WITH THE ONE PERCENT SCHOOL SALES TAX, FOREVER!

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

What Can I Do To Help Defeat This New Sales Tax?

The most important single thing YOU can do to help defeat this April 7 sales tax referendum IS TO WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR EXPLAINING YOUR REASONS WHY A VOTE OF NO IS RECOMMENDED. Send your letter of 250 words or less to both the Dispatch/Argus and the Quad City Times. You can send one letter per month to both newspapers. Use your own ideas or take any of the ideas from this Blog. Other ways you can help is by telling your acquaintances about this sales tax and how it will be harmful to Rock Island County and to the entire State of Illinois. This sales tax referendum was defeated in 2009 and 2014. With your help, it will be defeated again!

Retail Follows Rooftops?

One line the Dispatch/Argus has always used in the past when they have endorsed the one percent school sales tax for Rock Island County is "retail follows rooftops". If that were to be true how can it be that Scott County, with a population only 18,000 more than the population of Rock Island County collected almost twice as much sales tax revenue? Scott County collected $147.4 million in sales tax in 2012 while Rock Island County, with only 18,000 fewer residents, collected only $74.5 million in sales tax revenue! Obviously other factors than mere number of rooftops account for this huge disparity. Retail businesses in Scott County enjoy lower property taxes, a $1.00 per hour lower minimum wage, lower workman's compensation expenses and a slightly lower sales tax than retail businesses in Rock Island County. Scott County restaurants and other sellers of prepared food have a seven percent sale tax while in Moline and Rock Island the current sales tax is nine percent which would rise to ten percent with the new school sales tax. Obviously, there are many reasons why Rock Island County is losing population (in the last census Rock Island County lost 2,000 residents while Scott County gained 7,000), businesses and jobs but the added one percent school sales tax would certainly make Rock Island County even less competitive in the battle for retail sales. Why would Rock Island County Voters even consider making our county less competitive? Vote NO April 7.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Bill Bloom Guest Opinion

The following guest opinion column by BILL BLOOM appeared in the January 20, 2015 Dispatch/Argus. His words should be heeded by everyone who cares about the State of Illinois. "I think it is time for the state of Illinois to remove the words "tax increase" and "borrowing" from their vocabulary. In April, we will be voting on a sales tax increase to "support schools". Similar tax increase have already been enacted against our property, our businesses. ..... We are boxing our businesses into an intolerable position. Today, businesses in Illinois already contend with higher workman's compensation costs. They have to work with a higher minimum wage that is about to get higher still. At the same time, the state of Iowa is moving to lower its taxes on businesses which will make the problem worse. Illinois recently ranked 48th out of 50 states as one of the worst in which to operate a business. We are about to make it harder still. ..... When businesses are forced to move they take "revenue" with them. The absence of job opportunities means most of our kids end up living in other states. Ironically, as businesses leave because of government created increasing costs we end up with less tax revenue to fund schools. ..... What we are doing is insuring that it is more expensive to do business in Illinois and that it is harder to be price competitive versus neighboring states. Thousands of cars a day are driven to Iowa to be fueled up, and while there thousands of dollars are spent in Iowa businesses. Many of the people who advocate and vote for higher taxes in Illinois will turn around and buy stuff in Iowa because it is less expensive. ...... If a business is looking at the Quad Cities for a new location comes to town, the first question typically is, "What is available in Iowa?" The same is true with families moving to this area. A comparison of the housing markets will show there is no comparison. There used to be an argument about which city was nicer, Moline or Bettendorf? This argument no longer exists. ..... In Rock Island County a business will face a 7.50 percent sales tax versus 6 percent in Iowa and higher costs of business simply because they are in Illinois, compared to the same business in Iowa. A medium sized business in Illinois could move to Iowa into a similar building, keep its same staff, and immediately be hundreds of thousands of dollars more profitable and more price competitive. ..... If we continue to raise the costs of business, the decline in business in Illinois will continue. New business growth in Iowa will continue to outstrip Illinois. When our small business owners get to the point where they want to retire and sell their businesses, they will find it harder and harder to find buyers. Some will soldier on while others will simply close their doors. ..... Our problem is not that taxes are too low. Our problem is our cost of government is too high and too inefficient. We need to get rid of unnecessary drains on our tax dollars. We need to look at our school administration and streamline it to free up funding. ..... Don't pass a sales tax that will only make this situation worse."

Monday, January 19, 2015

A Couple Lies To Consider

One small lie consistently told by the supporters of the school sales tax is "ALL THE MONEY GENERATED BY THE ONE PERCENT SCHOOL FACILITIES SALES TAX WILL BE USED TO FUND IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR SCHOOL FACILITIES". THIS IS NOT COMPLETELY TRUE! THE STATE OF ILLINOIS WILL KEEP TWO PERCENT AS AN ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGE! A possibly larger lie, or at least a huge stretch of the truth, is "all money generated by the school facilities sales tax must be spent on school facilities and cannot be used for salaries, supplies or buses. This may be absolutely true, TO A POINT! School facilities sales tax revenue may indeed be used strictly on school facilities BUT HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF DISPLACEMENT? Schools can use the school facilities sales tax revenue to replace money that is currently earmarked in school budgets for facility improvement and use that money on salaries or feeding the bureaucracy. There may be little added money for school facility improvements! Is there anything in the history of Rock Island County education which would lead anyone to believe that giving our schools more money would improve education in Rock Island County? Vote NO on April 7.

Matt Griffin Letter To The Editor

The following letter from Matt Griffin appeared in the January 19, 2015 Dispatch/Argus. ..... marks paragraph breaks. "So here we go again taxpayers: ..... The schools are going to ask us to put up more money for the schools. I would NOT have a problem with this if I knew it would go to the schools. ..... OK, here's the problem I have with this. I can still hear the echoes of "if we get a Lottery here in Illinois, the money generated will go to the schools." ..... Who all out there can still hear this and is still waiting for this to happen? ..... This is why I am voting NO on this issue. It's time politicians come true on their promises. ..... And by the way, we the people of Rock Island County are still waiting to see the downsizing of the county board! Remember we voted for this almost a year ago!"

Friday, January 16, 2015

Help Save Illinois by voting NO

Many voters are probably not aware of how much damage could be done to the entire State of Illinois by the proposed one percent school sales tax for Rock Island County. We all know that many Illinois motorists buy their gasoline in Iowa in order to save an average of 30 cents per gallon, $3.00 per ten gallons! You may not have considered that by buying their gas in Iowa they are helping Iowa businesses and are paying Iowa gasoline taxes to help Iowa roads and are paying Iowa sales taxes to help Iowa government and schools. These Illinois motorists are hurting Illinois businesses and governments by taking these dollars to Iowa. ..... If the one percent school sales tax is approved in Rock Island County even more Illinois dollars will be spent in Iowa. Consider a $1,000.00 purchase of an appliance or furniture. If the shopper spends $1,000.00 in Moline the state of Illinois collects $12.50 in sales tax while Moline collects $12.50. Increase the sales tax by another one percent and the total sales tax is now $85.00! There are stores on both sides of the river but the sales tax would be $15.00 more in Rock Island County! If that appliance is purchased in Iowa the purchaser saves $15.00 but $60.00 in state sales tax now goes to Iowa and not Illinois,$10.00 goes to Iowa schools, the city of Moline or Rock Island loses $12.50 while the state of Illinois loses that $62.50 in sales tax and , of course, Rock Island County schools get nothing! ...... Rock Island County restaurants will also suffer, the current sales tax in Rock Island and Moline is 9 percent while it is 7 percent in Iowa, this tax would raise the sales tax to 10 percent. How high a tax will customers pay before they decide to save money by doing most of their shopping and dining in Iowa? ..... Think Illinoisans won't buy where taxes are lower? Go to any Iowa gas station and see how many Illinoisans buy their gasoline where they can save $2.00-$3.00 per ten gallons. How many more will decide to shop where they can save $15.00 per $1,000.00? ..... Illinois is already losing too many dollars to Iowa. Too often when a chain closes underperforming stores it is the Rock Island County store which is closed. Illinois is hurting for revenue and this sales tax increase in Rock Island County will hurt the State of Illinois and the cities of Moline and Rock Island through lower sales tax revenue while also hurting Rock Island County businesses which will see reduced sales. To save Illinois, vote NO April 7th.

No new taxes for RI County

The following letter-to-the-editor by CRAIG HOLLISTER appeared in the January 16, 2015 Quad City Times in rebuttal of their January 1 editorial. "Do the editors of the Quad City Times read their own editorials? On January 1,2015 under "Our wishes for 2015" there are two very contradictory wishes back to back. ..... A wish that "Rock Island County voters give their schoolchildren the same support Scott County voters have extended for more than a decade with the one percent sales tax for education" is followed by, "Legislators accept the ample revenue streams drawn from existing property and income taxes, then cease and desist discussions to add gas taxes, user fees or any new taxes." ..... How can the Quad City Times wish that legislators not raise taxes while urging a sales tax increase in Rock Island County? Look at our property tax bills. Rock Island County schools should have a very ample revenue stream. ..... In Illinois counties that have the school sales tax, the property tax rate is rising faster than the rate of inflation, while the sales tax revenue has not met projections, as people shop where prices are lower. This sales tax would make the Rock Island County sales tax much higher than Iowa's, causing even more dollars to leave Illinois. ..... Is the Quad City Times for or against higher taxes? You can't be both in adjoining paragraphs.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Higher Illinois Taxes Help Iowa

Butch Hugart had the following letter printed in the January, 13 Quad City Times in rebuttal of the Times January 1 editorial. ..... will denote paragraph breaks. "I find it shocking that the Quad City Times in its wishes for 2015 would speak out against legislators raising taxes in one wish and wish for higher sales taxes in another wish. .... Taxes of all kids are already higher in Illinois. Thousands of Illinoisans buy their gasoline in Iowa. While there, they do other shopping in Iowa, paying taxes that benefit Iowa schools and roads. ..... Raising the sales tax in Rock Island County will only help Iowa by sending more Illinoisans across the river for lower prices while hurting Illinois. Is that the real wish of the Quad City Times?"

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Voters, please say no to all frivolous tax increases

BILL LONG had the following letter in the January 10, 2015 Quad City Times and the January 13 Dispatch/Argus. In the Times it was offset by a letter asking for even more of our tax money. "'No vote sends message. I do believe that the voting public loses faith in their public officials when they consistently ask for a tax increase! ..... Our county board is going to discuss the fate of Hope Creek next Thursday. You can bet that one option will be some way to increase the support they are getting. That, tied to the pending courthouse situation, is almost a guarantee of future tax increases. ..... Now the almost annual request for a tax increase for the schools is again presented to us. This proposal was defeated in 2009 (proponents spent over $42,000 then). It was again defeated in 2014 (they spent over $38,000 that time). ..... After it was defeated twice, the Moline system didn't seem to have any trouble finding millions to make changes and for construction. ..... Whenever the school systems want to do something, they always seem to find the money. ..... You never hear any thoughts of cutting back on principals and supervisors to save money or discussions regarding the excess salary of some of these supervisors. You only hear that some teachers or their salaries will have to be cut, and our children will suffer. ..... Don't be misled by some of the baloney suggesting if the increase is passed, perhaps the property tax could be reduced. There are plenty of examples in our area where this also proved to be a fallacy. ..... A "no" vote on this will get the message to these public officials that if they require more funds, they must first be more conservative with their spending and have a better accounting of how they use our current dollars. ..... Please continue to vote "no" on any frivolous tax increase.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Where does education money go?

Only eleven states plus the District of Columbia (Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island) have higher average teacher's salaries than Illinois with $59,113. The national average for teacher's salaries is $56,383. Interestingly, many of those states are also on the list of poorly managed states which may go bankrupt. Almost everyone in the Quad Cities would agree that Iowa has better schools (Let's face it, Iowa has better almost everything!). In Iowa the average teacher salary is $51,528. Iowa also does not have as many layers of school bureaucracy as is found in Illinois. No wonder Iowa is able to provide better education at a lower cost. Scott County was also able to impose a 1 percent sales tax for school facility construction without suffering a loss of business revenue because their sales tax was lower to start with. Rock Island and Moline already have a higher sales tax than Scott County. Raising the sales tax in Rock Island County will only add to the advantaged enjoyed by Rock Island County. Let's work on making Rock Island County schools as cost-effective as those in Scott County.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Charles Fisher Letter To The Editor

Charles Fisher had the following letter in the January 7 Quad City Times. (I am using ..... to mark paragraph breaks.) ""We cannot manage to staff our very complex, highly sophisticated capital structure with what's coming out of our high schools. If we're not going to educate our kids, bring in other people who want to become Americans." These words from Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, show what a catastrophe modern education has become. ..... An estimated 20 percent of the prison population is talented and gifted (or rather cursed), a social tragedy caused solely by the failure of our schools. ..... Illinois already overpays for schools that underperform. Iowa's average starting teacher salary is $ 32,895 a year, while Illinois' is $36,636. Despite the difference, Illinois SAT scores are substantially lower than Iowa. ..... Illinois has the most pension debt of any state __ $25,959 per resident. For the share going to educational workers, Illinois voters are certainly (overly) generous. ..... Against this backdrop, Rock Island County schools are again forcing their way onto the ballot for a sales tax increase. ..... Now is not the time to reward our schools but to dismantle them. Voters should once again deny more money to a failed system on April 7 and reject the local option sales tax."

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Carol Bay Letter To The Editor

Carol Bay had the following letter in the January 6 Quad City Times and the January 7 Dispatch/Argus. (I am using ..... to mark paragraph breaks.) "On April 7, Rock Island County voters will once again vote on the school facilities tax that we rejected twice. Once again, we no doubt will be promised lower property taxes and told that the tax burden will be paid by outsiders. The proponents will also point out the many benefits bestowed by this sales tax. ..... Let's look at Henry County where, after repeatedly rejecting the school facilities sales tax , it was approved April 9, 2013. ..... The Annawan School District put out campaign literature that stated "The county sales tax for schools addresses facility funding in a manner that shifts away from property tax." ..... It warned that if people vote no "Property Taxes will likely increase" and stated if the sales tax passes "Property taxes may decrease". ..... What happened in Annawan? The school board voted in a 9.58 percent increase in the tax levy on December 17, 2014. The total tax rate is projected to increase from last year's tax rate of $4.30 to $$.49 per $100 of assessed valuation, costing the owner of a $100,000 house about an additional $53 per year. Other Henry County school boards have also raised their tax levies. Meanwhile, Henry County school boards complain that sales tax revenues are short of projections. ..... Rock Island County should not make the same mistake that Henry County did. I'm voting "NO" on the school sales tax."

Comparing Apples to Apples

On January 6 the Moline Sam's Club on John Deere Road was selling regular gasoline for $2.07.9 per gallon, the lowest price we have seen in Rock Island County. Also on January 6 the Davenport Sam's Club on Elmore was selling regular gasoline for $181.9 per gallon. 26 cents cheaper per gallon in Iowa! While we were watching we did not see a single car with Iowa license plates fueling up at the Moline Sam's Club but more that half the cars fueling up at the Davenport Sam's Club had Illinois license plates. ..... Supporters of the Rock Island County 1 percent school sales tax will try to convince you that higher taxes do not cause consumers to alter their shopping habits. ARE THEY NUTS? OR DO THEY THINK WE ARE THAT GULLIBLE? THIS COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED ON AN AVERSION TO TAXES! EVADING TAXES IS THE AMERICAN WAY! Of course all these Illinois motorists are helping to pay for Iowa roads and other Iowa governments and not helping to pay for Illinois roads and governments. While in Iowa they possibly shop at Iowa stores and dine at Iowa restaurants, paying more taxes to help Iowa schools and government. The Rock Island County 1 percent school sales tax will add to the exodus of Illinois dollars into Iowa, especially when diners notice a 10% sales tax at Moline and Rock Island restaurants and compare that sales tax with the 7% in Scott County restaurants.

Monday, January 5, 2015

H.L. Mencken on the RICo Sales Tax?

The Cryptoquote in the January 5, 2015 Quad City Times is an old one from H.L Mencken that is relevant to the nonsense over the need to combat "man-made" global warming (as 2014 was below normal in the Quad Cities and we now face another very cold spell) and to the push for the 1 percent school sales tax in Rock Island County. "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false-face for the urge to rule it". In both cases the urge to 'save humanity' is being used as a reason to gain more control of our money because they honestly believe that government knows how best to spend OUR money. It has been said by so many (Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, etc.) but it bears saying again: Eventually they will run out of "other people's money". Fiscal conservatives believe that the way to ensure economic growth is through leaving money in the pockets of the people, and tax revenues will actually grow through lower tax rates. Vote NO April 7.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Are Our Taxes Too Low?

Are newcomers to our area shunning the Illinois Quad Cities because taxes are too low? That seems to be the argument used by the Quad City Times and other supporters of the 1 percent school sales tax who claim newcomers look to the Iowa Quad Cities because their schools look better. As always, WE HAVE A DIFFERENT IDEA! When prospective buyers look at property they are given a sheet of information THAT INCLUDES THE PROPERTY TAXES PAID! Property taxes are higher in Rock Island County, among the highest in the nation. Rock Island County is 346th out of 3,143 United States counties in order of median property taxes, Scott County is still high at 556th but better than Rock Island County. Rock Island County is 241st out of 3,143 United States counties for property taxes as a percentage of median income, Scott County is 556th. We contend that prospective home buyers compare property and other taxes and fees and choose to live in Iowa because so many taxes are lower there. Raising the sales tax in Rock Island will only make a bad situation worse.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Quad City Times Endorses Higher Taxes (Surprise!)

To no one's surprise the January 3 Quad City Times endorsed the 1 percent sales tax for schools in the April 7, Rock Island County election. Be not dismayed. The Quad City Times made the same endorsement using the same false arguments in 2009 and 2014. We only need, once again, to point out the fallacies used by the Quad City Times and other supporters of this unfair tax. The Quad City Times, and others, make the claim "many new arrivals to the Quad Cities summarily discount Illinois-side towns when they compare public schools". We make the case that many new arrivals summarily discount Illinois-side towns when they compare property taxes. We agree that the 1 percent school sales tax in Scott County is not harming their tax revenue because that only raised Iowa's sales tax to the level of Illinois. In some cases the Iowa sales tax is still lower than that in Illinois, especially lower than the sales tax in Moline and Rock Island restaurants (the sales tax would be 10 percent, how much will diners pay in taxes before they go where the sales tax is only 7 percent?). Raising the sales tax in Rock Island County will send many prudent shoppers to Iowa which will further help Iowa businesses, schools and roads. The state of Illinois and other governments will see less sales tax revenue, Rock Island County businesses will lose sales. Rock Island County school property taxes will continue to rise much faster than the rate of inflation. Our school test scores will not improve. And one final sure-fire prediction OUR SCHOOLS WILL CONTINUE TO CLAIM THEY NEED MORE MONEY!

Friday, January 2, 2015

January 1 Quad City Times

On January 1 the Quad City Times printed two very contradictory "Wishes For 2015" back to back. "For Illinois Q-C students ... Rock Island County voters give their schoolchildren the same support Scott County voters have extended for more than a decade with the one percent sales tax for education. "Immediately followed by the wish "For taxpayers ... Legislators accept the ample revenue streams drawn from existing property and income taxes, then cease and desist discussions to add gas taxes, user fees or any new levies." Does the Quad City Times see the contrast between these two opposite wishes? Our Rock Island County schools should have a very ample revenue stream. We pay among the highest property taxes in the nation. Every expansion of gambling in Illinois and most of our tax increases have all been "for the children" yet our schools continue to decline. Could it be that more money might not be the answer?