Illinois Progressive Tax Gambit: Despite a tax hike last year, Democrats and unions are back for more

WSJ editorial. Excerpts:

"This vicious cycle is already playing out in Illinois amid increasing property, income and business taxes. Over the last four years, Illinois GDP has risen a mere 0.9% per year, half the national average and the slowest in the Great Lakes region. Between 2012 and 2016, Illinois lost $18.35 billion in adjusted gross income to other states. Its labor force has been contracting since 2008 while its neighbors grow their pool of human capital. Wisconsin with a 3.2% unemployment rate is recruiting workers in Illinois (4.9%).

As people have left the Prairie State, home values have tumbled. So local governments have jacked up property taxes more. The average property tax bill has risen by half over the last decade while home prices have fallen by 10%, according to the lllinois Policy Institute.

Democrats claim a progressive income tax will spare the middle-class, but sooner or later they’ll be the targets too because there won’t be enough rich to finance the inexorable demands of public unions. This is why Democrats haven’t proposed rates with their constitutional amendments. Vote now—pay later."