Today marks the 239th anniversary of the first Constitution of the United States. On January 30, 1781, Maryland becomes the 13th and final state to ratify the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the 13 original states creating our first Constitution which prevented the Federal Government from imposing any direct tax. Happy Articles of Liberty Day to all Taxpayers!
Preamble: “To all to whom these Presents shall come, we, the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting. Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congress assembled did on the fifteenth day of November in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy seven, and in the Second Year of the Independence of America agree to certain articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of Newhampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhodeisland and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia in the Words following, viz. “Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of Newhampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhodeisland and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.”
On the March 17 ballot, Taxpayers of McHenry County will have the opportunity to vote bloated government out of existence, permanently. The local governments that will be on the chopping block in the upcoming election include McHenry Township and Nunda Township.
“This is
democracy in action at its best,” said Jim Tobin, president of Taxpayers United
of America (TUA).
McHenry
Twp. Trustees Bob Anderson, Mike Rakestraw, and Steve Verr spearheaded
the drive to eliminate their township.
“I think we
need to move forward, and reduce the size and cost of
unnecessary government in McHenry County,” said Anderson.
“Eliminating useless
townships would remove the property taxes of these townships,” said Tobin. “It
makes a lot of sense Illinois has nearly 7,000 units of local government, a
staggering number. With 6,963 units of local government, Illinois beats its
nearest competitor by more than 1,800. Taxpayers are overwhelmed by all these
local governments, which encourage corruption, waste and unnecessary property
taxes.”
“TUA
supports the efforts of Bob Anderson, Mike Rakestraw, and Steve
Verr to consolidate McHenry Township, as well as the other taxpayers in Nunda
Township. It is time for taxpayers to take back control of their money, and cut
out wasteful government.
The Taxpayer Education Foundation (TEF) today released its
study of the Lake County area government-employee pensions, highlighting the
top pensions in the Teachers Retirement System (TRS), the State Universities
Retirement System (SURS) and the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF).
Taxpayers United of America (TUA) issued the following statement based on the
TEF pension study.
“It is no mystery what’s driving the economy-killing
property tax increases in Lake County,” said Jim Tobin, TUA president. “It’s
the state’s lavish, gold-plated pension plans for retired government
employees.”
“The perpetual tax increases that plague Illinois residents
have nothing to do with children, roads, or services. They are about pensions
for the privileged government class. This money may be ‘earmarked’ for
buildings or whatever, but in reality it only frees up increased taxes for
government pensions. It’s a shell game.”
“Those of us in the private sector must reduce our spending
if our income decreases; we can’t just go to our employer and demand more money
to fund irresponsible spending. That’s not true for the political class.”
“The IMRF pension fund, which gives lavish, gold-plated pension
benefits to retired municipal employees, is subsidized by property taxes. If
that isn’t bad enough, IMRF pensioners are also eligible to receive Social
Security pensions.”
“When you look at what the individual government retirees
are actually collecting in taxpayer-funded pensions, you can get a better idea
of why this theft of taxpayer wealth is so outrageous. Keep in mind that the
average taxpayer will collect only about $17,500 a year from Social Security.”
“Here are some egregious examples.”
“Dwight Magalis retired from the Lake County government at
the age of 52! His current annual pension from IMRF is $172,303. He will
receive $3,030,251 in total pension payments over a normal lifetime. He also is
eligible for Social Security. ”
“Henry S. Bangser retired from New Trier TWP HSD 203 at the
age of 57. His current annual pension is $331,489. For a total contribution he
made to his pension of only $336,612, he will accumulate $9,557,306 in taxpayer
funded pension payments over a normal lifetime. What a racket!”
“Girard Weber retired from the College of Lake County at the
age of 66. His current annual pension is $304,266. For a total contribution he
made to his pension of only $314,282, he will receive $7,015,970 in total
pension payments over a normal lifetime. Wow!”
“Linda L. Yonke retired from New Trier TWP HSD 203 at the
age of 63. Her current annual pension is $263,645. She will receive $7,484,592
in total pension payments over a normal lifetime.”
“The entire local and statewide pension system in Illinois
is unsustainable. The other five statewide pension funds are partly funded by
the state income tax. Democrat Governor Jay Robert ‘J. B.’ Pritzker and his
tax-raising cronies want to stick it to middle class taxpayers by increasing
the state income tax again. They placed, on the November 2020 ballot, another
statewide income tax increase.
What does a statewide income tax increase mean for you? It
means stealing from you to subsidize government pension millionaires.”
“The federal graduated income tax was sold to taxpayers as
‘a tax cut for the middle class.’ How did that turn out?”
“The state government employee pension system is the single
cause of Illinois’ critical financial situation and it is mathematically
impossible to tax our way out of this situation.”
“The Illinois government in Springfield has failed us. It’s
in everyone’s best interest to solve the pension problem before the system
completely collapses. It is no longer a matter of ‘if’ it will collapse, but
when.”
“All new hires should be placed into 401(k) style retirement
savings accounts. Member contributions to their retirement funds should be
increased. Retirement age for full benefits should be increased to at least 65,
preferably to 67, and contributions for health care also should be increased.
Anything short of these reforms will do nothing to permanently solve the
problem.”
Taxpayers United Of America: (TUA). is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(4) taxpayer advocacy group. Founded June 27, 1976 in Chicago, Illinois by activist and economist Jim Tobin, TUA works on behalf of taxpayers to reduce local, state, and federal taxes. In the past forty years, TUA has saved taxpayers more than $200 billion n taxes and has become one of the largest taxpayer organizations in America. Check All posts.
s.
ADDRESS
Chicago, IL 60606
205 W. Randolph Street, Suite 1305
Phone: (312) 427-5128
Fax: (312) 427-5139
