We Can't Have It Both Ways

These last few days has been exciting for people like me.  I have been watching the budget votes very close because after all, I'm a public school employee and my livelihood depends on what happens.  That's true but that's not why I'm watching this closely.  For the first time in a long time we are on the verge of great things.  A new and much improved school funding formula is on the table.  A revenue and spending plan that will help get us out of the mess is on the table.  Legislators are voting in a bipartisan manner to help get our state back on track.  They have turned their back on politics and opened their eyes to reality.  Something special is happening and we should all be excited about it.

During this time I have been checking social media in regular intervals for updates.  I'm sharing, re-tweeting and liking anything that makes me happy about this developing story.  It occurred to me during a scroll through Facebook that despite all the posts and official statements from politicians I wasn't really seeing any arguments about raising taxes.  My usual suspects on this topic seemed to be silent.  I started to feel good about this because maybe it meant that we are all on the same page, but then I ran into a post that made me think.

A public school teacher shared a post about how the General Assembly would be better off cutting corners than raising taxes.  I can see that side of things but you have to do a combination of both cutting and raising revenue to get out of the hole we are in.  I was simply off-put by the fact a southern Illinois school teacher is agreeable to the idea of losing more than we have already lost.  Public schools have had their butts kicked over and over during the budget crisis and I had figured some solidarity would emerge from this.  I guess not.

I will not disparage anyone for what they believe.  If you are anti-tax, then that's fine.  I will simply say that I am a tax payer too.  Yes, I technically work for the state but I also pay federal, state, property and sales taxes.  All of which support my school district.  I do not have any trouble with the idea of paying higher taxes.  In this case I know where it has to go.  To be fair, I do understand why people that work in the private sector that are not okay with the idea.  I do get it.  Let's pretend for a minute that the Governor vetoes the bills and they are overridden to become law.  Taxes are raised but schools and other vital public services are funded properly.  I think we can all agree on some things post budget crisis:

• Nobody likes the initiation of a major change but we all like whats on the back end of it.
• Taxpayers need to demand that our legislature works for the common good.  We have a very unique state but this situation has shown us that legislators are willing to work together.
• Partisan politics was a major cause of barriers that might have lead to earlier success.  To avoid another crisis, lets keep and elect people that can be bi-partisan on significant issues. 
• Don't buy into the rhetoric.  There is more than one way to skin a cat but competing interests will have you believe that there is only one way to solve our problems.  This my friends, is how you win elections not how your serve a struggling state.

Maybe I'm getting excited or just overly optimistic.  We are on the edge of something significant that could lead us out of the darkness.  We have asked our leaders to compromise and get it done but we should expect the same for ourselves.  We know that new revenue needs to be raised for any way out of this mess.  We need to suffer through it together and then do our part to prevent another embarrassing budget crisis.  It is a bitter pill for all of us to swallow but it has to be done.  We can't have it both ways.  We can't demand more out of the legislature if we are not willing to give something up too.