Gov. J.B. Pritzker keeps warning that “painful cuts” are coming, how that his proposal for a graduated state income tax has been defeated.
Governor, stop warning and start cutting.
You are running one of the biggest charities in the country with our tax dollars.
If you need some help cutting, here is a suggestion. To quote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal: “If Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker were to trim his state’s per resident spending to match Texas’, he would save his taxpayers $22.3 billion a year — and there would be no need for any income tax increase.”
You can’t solve all our state’s financial problems by raising taxes and borrowing money. Start cutting. And if you need advice on that, give the governor of Texas a call. I’m sure he would get a good laugh out of your budget and be able to offer some suggestions to help you out.
Bill Hartman, Barrington
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Green energy dividend
I agree with the Sun-Times editorial arguing for practical pro-environmental incentives to push ComEd in the direction of greener energy. The fact that ComEd is getting involved in more and more solar projects, as part of the Future Energy Jobs Act, shows they are motivated to shift.
Along with trying to keep power costs reasonable, it would be great if consumers also were rewarded at the end of the chain. This could be achieved through the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, a bi-partisan bill pending in the U.S. House and backed by 82 co-sponsors. The legislation would impose a carbon fee at the point of source and return those funds monthly to American households. It would be like a stimulus check, but paid for by the companies that use fossil fuels.
This would encourage the utility companies to accelerate the process of moving towards renewable sources of energy. And American households would receive a dividend for more than the increase in energy costs.
Carbon pricing is a critical factor in reducing carbon emissions and making the world a better place.
Shreyas Jagtap, Little Italy
