A good issue for Brady
Friday, Oct 25, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Senator Bill Brady’s Lt. Gov. running mate Maria Rodriguez recently used the tax issue against two of her opponents…
Rodriguez: I support the sunseting of the income tax increase (Lowering the individual income tax to 3.25 % and lowering the corporate income tax.
Jeff Berkowitz: Would you take it back even further to the original level of 2010 [lower the individual income tax to 3%]
Rodriguez: I think we have to look at a variety of possibilities, I know that one of Bill Brady’s opponents has suggested increasing the gas tax. Another opponent has suggested that we leave that [income tax increase] alone.
Berkowitz: Wait, whose the opponent who has suggested that we increase the gas tax?
Rodriguez: Kirk Dillard has suggested that we increase the gas tax. I don’t agree with that.
Berkowitz: Who has suggested that we leave the income tax increase alone?
Rodriguez: Dan Rutherford has said perhaps we should leave the income tax increase in place…
This is just one reason why Brady, despite his lack of financial resources, could still manage to hobble up the right side of the pack next March and win the primary again. But, man, he needs to raise at least some money.
I can see a path for all four GOP candidates in this primary, by the way, unless Bruce Rauner somehow manages to blow everybody out of the water by February. But that’s gonna take a lot more spending.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 12:30 pm:
Bill Brady, when he keeps to the Fiscal part of the governing and the campaigning, is at his best, and at his strongest.
Brady needs to show everyone that he is committed to winning, which means dialing for dollars at … any … clip. get on the phone, unless you can’t even afford to have a phone to dial(?)
As to Rauner, I am a bit confused (no snark) as to where he sees himself standing right now, and while the first wave of intro commercials and media buys are now past, will the Referendum and “shake up Springfield” be “enough”, even at the saturation needed with an even higher burn rate?
Rauner has a path to get to April, but getting to March with saturation of message with a high burn rate, at aome point, Rauner wil have to be for and even against … something besides “Shaking things up”
- Norseman - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 12:31 pm:
Taxes are always good red meat issues. Especially among GOP primary voters. As Rich points out he’ll need more money or a huge ground game to get the message out. I don’t think he will have either for this race.
- ZC - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 12:31 pm:
It’s not a healthy sign for the GOP though when the best issue for the most conservative candidate is also probably the biggest economic nonstarter.
I mean, has Brady got a semblance of a plan for how he is going to cut spending to manage in a 3.25 income tax Illinois? What would this brave new budget world look like? Is there a URL somewhere where we can see this alternate Illinois, what is going to be cut? Where is it?
I’ve said it before (lots of us libs have said it before I know) but right now in this primary there’s Rutherford, and then there’s those other three guys.
- Chavez-respecting Obamist - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 12:32 pm:
So what programs does she suggest we stop funding?
- Whatever - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 1:01 pm:
Everyone underestimates Brady at their peril.
- Demoralized - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 1:20 pm:
There needs to be follow up questions to anybody that says let the tax increase expire. The question should be: “How will you fill the $5+ billion hole in the budget it will create?”
- DuPage - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 1:20 pm:
A number of years back, the GOP did away with the gas tax for about 6 months. That was to “offset” the huge jump in gas prices. The road fund was already going broke and the “gas tax holiday” made it much worse.
The same reasoning seems to be behind the idea “the state can’t pay it’s bills, let’s fix it by a tax cut”.
- Cincinnatus - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 1:21 pm:
Geesh…
Kirk Dillard DID NOT SAY TO RAISE THE GAS TAX. He said to ELIMINATE the current tax and REPLACE IT WITH A NEW TAX AT A LOWER RATE whose revenues are used to fund infrastructure improvements.
- Bill White - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 1:28 pm:
@ Cincinnatus
Okay, let’s go with this.
1. Repeal the current gas tax
2. Replace with a lower gas tax
3. Re-direct revenue from #2 to infrastructure improvements
What specific expenditures does candidate Dillard propose be cut to offset the revenue lost in step #1?
How would the loss of revenue in step #1 be reconciled with allowing the income tax to revert to the old rate?
- Madame Defarge - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 1:46 pm:
Actually, just for clarity, Dillard has proposed cutting the Sales tax on gas in half and using the remaining half for roads. There is no increase in any tax–folks who say otherwise are –well not being honest about the proposal–now feel free to debate but at least get the facts straight.
- Hit or Miss - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 1:58 pm:
This brings me to ask if 1) the income tax goes back down and/or 2) the current gas tax is repealed and replaced with a new lower gas tax, how do we come up with money to solve the states $100B unfunded pension liability? Do Dillard and/or Brady have a plan for that problem?
- Precinct Captain - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 2:55 pm:
==I mean, has Brady got a semblance of a plan for how he is going to cut spending to manage in a 3.25 income tax Illinois? What would this brave new budget world look like? Is there a URL somewhere where we can see this alternate Illinois, what is going to be cut? Where is it?==
If it’s anything like 2010, the cuts are ten percent across the board.
https://capitolfax.com/2010/08/10/an-immovable-object/
- Steve - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 3:08 pm:
Maria and Kirk would make great junior partners for the Madigan tax , spend , and regulate operation.
- Bill White - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 3:31 pm:
A possible campaign slogan:
=== Bill Brady wants to sequester Illinois. ===
- reformer - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 4:12 pm:
Dillard did provide a crucial vote to raise both the RTA sales tax and the DuPage sales tax (just prior to a referendum on the issue) several years ago. So he’s no virgin when it comes to supporting tax hikes.
- Just The Way It Is One - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 5:03 pm:
All of the fiscal matters aside, I find it even MORE interesting how BB is actively using Ms. Rodriguez to deliver such a message–perhaps specifically try to lure in the women’s vote and the Hispanic vote with talk about lowering income taxes (even though I personally don’t think such an approach fiscally is prudent for Illinois)…?
It’s all very interesting–and actually somewhat remniscent of his “no need to raise taxes” plank in 2010 which MANY criticized as out-of-touch and irresponsible, given the severe financial setbacks suffered by Illinoisans as a result of the Great Recession…! Note that Pat Quinn took the exact, opposite approach and STILL won by 18,000 votes.
- Just The Way It Is One - Friday, Oct 25, 13 @ 5:05 pm:
It should have just read above “…specifically to try to lure in…?”