Scot Talks Budget Address With Eyewitness News

I had a bonus opportunity this morning to join Matt & Candice on Eyewitness News during the 6am hour. We chatted a bit about the Governor's budget address and how his support for a making the temporary tax hike permanent could impact this November's election.

We did not have time for me to make an additional point about the details on the "progressive tax" scheme unveiled in Springfield this week. Under this proposal the Illinois tax code would no longer be fair, i.e. everyone paying the same percentage on their income. It would be on a sliding scale, with anyone making between $12,500 and $180,000 paying 4.9% on income as opposed to current law, which reduces the rate to 3.75% starting in 2015. Yet somehow supporters are spinning the change as some kind of "tax relief".

I know this might not be a perfect analogy, but it's the best I've come up with: You buy a house and agree to pay $1,000 a month on your mortgage for the first ten years. Then the payment drops to $600 a month afterwards. Just before year number ten, the bank suddenly changes its mind and demands you pay $950 a month for the remainder of the agreement.

Now would you call that a "payment cut"? Of course not. But Illinois Democrats use the same logic to promise "tax relief". Don't believe it.

Here's the video: