By Laurie Bergner
I started writing forums for WJBC way back in 2002! One of the very first forums I wrote was one I got skewered for by the listening audience, who called in to call me crazy. It was called “in praise of taxes.” I made the case that taxes are the basis of civilized society, and I challenged people: “instead of saying we pay too much taxes, say ‘I think we should have fewer services,’ and then tell us which services you’d like to reduce,” because that’s what fewer taxes mean: reduced services. It’s 13 years later, and we are indeed getting both: low taxes and reduced services.
When the Illinois legislature finally had the courage to pass a temporary tax increase, raising our taxes from one of the lowest in the country to a more reasonable medium tax rate, I applauded them. Likewise, I couldn’t have been more dismayed when last fall the legislature backed down from their courageous stand and opted to let the temporary tax increase expire. Let’s let the new governor decide when he gets into office. And so he has: no new tax increase and shocking tax cuts.
When my children went to kindergarten 30 years ago, the class size was kept at 20 or 21 children; aides were hired to help if any class was above that. Now, these classes regularly have 28 children, with no aides. It doesn’t take a genius to know that that means our children are not getting the attention, the quality education that they used to get. Remember that quote by Ghandi: “the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.” What is the true measure of our Illinois society? We have cut services to the mentally ill for the last decade, and now they are being cut yet again. We are steadily decreasing government aid to higher education, and to student aid, so that we are no longer making higher education available to our young people, even though we know how much they need a college education to have a successful future. Workers unemployment and compensation insurance is on the list, and the list of planned cuts goes on and on. In other words, the curs affect all the most needy and vulnerable members of society.
These cuts are shocking and they’re foolish. By cutting prevention, they end up costing the state more in the long run. Here’s one example, several years ago, the state cut funding that helped developmentally disabled live in independent living. As a result, most of them ended up in extremely expensive state run facilities that cost the state many times more than the small amount needed to provide support for independent living.
So who is to blame? Governor Rauner could not get this through if legislators did not let him do so. But truly, the real culprit is us, the voters. If we did not keep voting in these legislators, if we called and wrote and kept the pressure up to keep that tax increase in place, we would make it happen. I can’t see how anyone can say we love our country if we’re not willing to pay to keep our country one in which the American dream of a decent quality of life for all is real.
Laurie Bergner is a clinical psychologist in private practice, working with individual adults, families and couples. She also works with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, helping organize candidates forums, educational programs, and many issues in the field of law and justice. She has received many recognitions in both fields, including YWCA’s Women of Distinction in the Professions, Leaguer of the Year, LWV Special Project Awards, and the LWV of Illinois’s prestigious Carrie Chapman Catt award. Laurie has a wonderful husband and two grown children – also wonderful. She loves biking in the countryside, reading, and traveling.
The opinions expressed within WJBC’s Forum are solely those of the Forum’s author, and are not necessarily those of WJBC or Cumulus Media, Inc.
