Math Impaired Teachers

by Cal Skinner

This will not be the first time I have taken errant folks to task about their inability to calculate percentages.

Remember,

3-16-9 Pam, Pam, Pam

3-14-9 Math-Impaired Liberal Says One Percentage Point Means 1%

2-8-9 Joel Weisman Falsely Frames the Income Tax Hike Issue

Through the whole income tax hike debate proponents have talked about the one or two percentage increase they favored.

Take a look at page ten of this Illinois Federation of Teachers publication called "Insight."

No need to wonder why Chicago school kids don't do well in math. (The IFT has most of its members in the Chicago Public School system.)

Take a look at option one:

Income tax increase

A 1 percent increase would generate
$3.7 billion; a 1.5 percent increase
would raise $5.6 billion, with the local
government match aiding cities and
counties meet serviced needs.

Oh, really.

In Fiscal Year 2008, Illinois collected almost $14.9 billion. One percent times $14.9 billion equals $149 million on my calculator.

And, just to show that the problem goes all the way to the top of the IFT, look at the letter from President Ed Geppert, Jr.

Here's one of his paragraphs:

"So here we stand in 2009. No sustainable revenue plan has been passed in this state for 20 years, and Illinois stands with an $11.5 billion deficit. There truly is no way out of this financial mess without increasing the state’s income tax rate by somewhere between 1 and 2 percent."

Posted first on McHenry County Blog, where lots of Labor Day Weekend articles appear.