first hand

"At least you were a real call. A lot of them are just crazy people and we get there and it's nothing." This is what the baby-faced fireman said to me as we bounced along in my very first ambulance ride. Since my condition wasn't life threatening the firemen came, instead of EMTs. "don't they have to pay for it if it's not a real problem?" I asked incredulously. He chuckled,"no, you and I pay for it". I remember my parents having to pay for an ambulance when my dad was found on the side of the road in a diabetic coma. I remember thinking that wasn't fair. But that was in Maryland and i was too young to remember the details.
Later we saw the same sweet fireman when he brought someone else in. He said he preferred my company to the drunk that just swung a bloody fist at him...ew. Im happy to have my taxes pay that kind fireman's salary. He works hard and his jovial manner made a bad experience much easier. And, yes it blows that people waste our tax dollars on false alarms, but Im grateful to live in a place where emergency help was available to me. No one likes taxes, but sometimes you realize that they really are paying off.

primaries

so primaries happened, huh? In case you weren't paying attention, the governor's race was very close. Did you vote?

Tuesday night i was walking on Pulaski by 60th. i had just enjoyed a delicious burrito and was headed back to the north side, when i passed a polling place in a different taqueria. I was tickled! my two favorite things were finally in one place. I knew immediately that this was in no way a ploy to lure voters, but likely due to a lack of libraries. Still, i was so happy to see a community disregarding what is missing in their neighborhood to have their needs met. warm squishy feeling. ...sigh

Guess which state just approved a tax increase on the wealthy and what's your favorite Ghostbuster?

Oregon, Or Egon?

We should really congratulate Oregon today. the people voted to approve two special tax measures to close a $733 million state budget gap in the state. Enjoy this link.

A tax increase like the two in Oregon is exactly what Illinois needs right now!

"Passage of these measures means we keep core services of education, health care and public safety that Oregon families, businesses, and communities count on," said Oregon House Speaker Dave Hunt, a Democrat who represents Clackamas County. Defeat, he said, would have forced the state to cut nearly a billion dollars more from such services."

"Oregon voters said 'no' to more 4-day school weeks and bulging class sizes and 'yes' to corporations and the wealthy paying their fair share,"

Oregon really gets it!!

Let YOUR Legislators know that we need to end the stupid flat tax in Illinois. Click here to learn how

cta service cuts

do you take public transportation in Chicago? If so, you should know that state taxes support your trips, not just city taxes and fares. Do you think struggling families down state give a shit about our cta? my guess is hell no. Even though it's not fair, I'm not going to act like I don't reap the benefits and like it. As you've probably heard, there are going to be significant cut-backs to the bus service. So, there was a fare hike, now service cuts, and poor people outside the city pay for something they dont use. Isn't that a bit fucked up? Solution: tax brackets to create a more fair system
Raise the rate for those that can afford it to keep busses moving!

How easy is it?

it's so easy...you can do it faster than the cast of Jersey Shore can show their abs.

email your reps through this site made for lazy-faces www.illinoisneedstaxbrackets.com
The letter is written for you!

Sara Feigenholtz

Turns out we see eye-to-eye, Ms. Feigenholtz and I. I'm in the 12th district so she and John Cullerton are the peeps I get a hold of when I have concerns. In addition to the supremely simple form letter on the site (www.illinoisneedstaxbrackets.com), I wrote a letter to thank her for supporting the bill to remove the flax tax last time. It also turns out we have many of the same interests. For instance, we both advocate gay rights. Did you know that some people think gay people should be treated differently than breeders? Ms Feigenholtz thinks gay people are citizens. Likes this (thumbs up).

Know what else? Ms Feigenholtz also loves women having access to birth control. Did you know that some people think that the devil walks among us and that women are causing the decline of our United States by taking precautions to not get pregnant? Ms Feigenholtz thinks women are citizens. She was behind "The Contraceptive Equity Act" (insurance coverage for birth control) and "The Unintended Pregnancy Prevention Act" (PlanB at Walgreens). In my book, she's the A#1

What do you think of her policies?

Significantly easier than pie

Abby is the shit and made www.illinoisneedstaxbrackets.com completely lazy-proof. There is a form letter already written and you just have to put in some info and then, with effen technology magic, you've emailed your reps. If you don't do go on the website and get it done you are the laziest turd this side of Lake Michigan.
out!

free-file

You should be getting those W-2s soon, people. How about this year you do your taxes early. Really look at those final numbers. If you are in the low federal tax brackets you are giving Illinois a lot of money back, huh? You probably have to write Illinois a check. You should think about what a high percentage of you're income you've given the state in sales taxes already. It's a lot more than 3%. It's OK to be frustrated. In fact, get pissy, indignant, and self-righteous. God knows that people in high tax-brackets do. Know how I know? Because they hire accountants who hide their income and know the loop holes and jargon of tax filing. But you, gentle reader, may not be able to afford more than a simple free-file online, and that thing won't tell you how to cheat the government. The "haves" bitch about the "have nots" who are living on the dole and using services that they pay for. Well guess what...you have been paying for them too and now services are being slashed from the state budget. Now what?

GET THE FLAT TAX OUT OF THE ILLINOIS CONSTITUTION THIS MAY

Write or call your elected officials now. A sample dialogue:

"Hi, my name is ______. I am a resident of the ____ district and you represent me. Even if you aren't up for reelection, this May I want you to vote "aye" when they're all like, "who wants to get the tax system on the ballot in 2010?" Please and thank you."

Easy! Then vote for tax-brackets in the fall. Piece of cake! Then the state government can get some dollars fair and square.

Happy New Year! Let's resolve to make our elected officials accountable to our needs. CALL THEM

http://www.msmagazine.com/Fall2009/paycheckfeminism.asp

A slightly higher tax on what I make would leave me with more at the end of the year than a rediculous sales tax on nearly everything I buy

High sales tax in Chicago...because of a low flat-rate income tax

Why are our sales taxes so high in Chicago, Cook County and Illinois?

Because we choose sales taxes more than income taxes in this state.

There's no such thing as a Chicago income tax. There is in New York City. And Washington, D.C. But not Chicago.

So the money has to come from somewhere. If we don't tax income, then we either tax sales or property.

That's it. Those are the choices. Income tax. Sales tax. Property tax.

And the state income tax is...low. So the state sales tax is high.

It's 6.25%. That's pretty high.

Here is a Wikipedia state-by-state comparison of sales taxes.

The state income tax is only 3%. That's pretty low.

It's the lowest income tax rate in the country. Check out Wikipedia.

There is no state property tax.

So Illinois uses a pretty high sales tax, a very low income tax and no state property tax.

If we had a higher income tax rate -- and if we used tax brackets like the federal government and like 30-some other states -- we could lower our sales tax.

So the next time you look at your receipt and wonder why the sales tax is so high, think about our low income tax and our lack of state income tax brackets.

Welfare

Last night my friend complained about this here project saying, "a small business is already taxed at about 40% by its 'business partner', the government, and now you want the business owner to pay higher taxes on personal income from said business because he/she/I make 'too much money".

No, anonymous-friend, it's not that I'm jealous of your money and want to punish you. I don't want you to pay for "women who pop out babies to collect welfare". Maybe welfare should get a revamp, but the majority of your taxes do NOT go to welfare... read this

grrr, republican-friend-with-sweet-moustache, let us again take a look at Quinn's list of where your Illinois taxes go. List! I imagine if every dollar that goes towards a woman with children counts as welfare then you could be right, friend-of-mine. But you know, gentle reader, that is a misrepresentation of the numbers.

And, close-friend-with-whom-I've-shared-great-adventures-and-who-has bought-me-many-generous-gifts, you too should be able to vote your conscience in 2010. So let's all contact our reps to get it on the ballot!

Thanks for the inspiration and whiskey talks, Keith.

Really!?

Where does Illinois get it's cash money? Hmmm. Notice how high the sales taxes are compared to income tax. No es bueno for poor peeps, ya'll.

Property Tax 37.1%
General Sales Tax 16.6%
Selective Sales Tax 17.2%
Individual Income 17.1%
Corporate Income 5.3%
Licenses & Other 6.6%

compare us to other states

The website is up!

taadaaa! This is the official website of Illinois Tax Bracketeers