Control appetite for our tax dollars, vote no April 7

Jon Noland had the following letter published in the March 6, 2015 Dispatch/Argus. (..... marks paragraph breaks.) "Mark Schwiebert recently made the point that taxes are necessary and "the price we pay for democracy". And he is correct -- to a point. ..... Certainly, in our infancy, certain necessities were required to create and sustain our wonderful country, and those required taxes to pay for them. The problem is, when and where does it all stop -- when is enough, enough? ...... A government that gets elected by promising more acquires an insatiable appetite for tax money. Governments will not control themselves for their goal is to spend to get re-elected. How many times has a governmental entity returned tax monies? So, my fellow taxpayers, it is up to us to control that appetite for our tax dollars. ..... A case in point: For a third time a proposed sales tax to supposedly benefit schools is being placed before us. Vote it in, and money that might have gone for infrastructure will go toward raises while backfilling infrastructure with new tax dollars. So you are really voting for more money for salaries, retirements, etc. Do not fall for this smoke and mirrors -- vote NO! ..... If we say no enough times, then maybe real reforms will come about. Why not one school district for all of Rock Island County? Why not year-round school years -- summer breaks date from our old agricultural based economy? Why not teacher raises based on performance and not contract negotiations? Why not retain the best teachers as opposed to those with the longest tenures? ..... Institute some of these ideas, and then we'll talk about more money. ..... Until then vote NO!"