<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><head><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml><o:OfficeDocumentSettings><o:AllowPNG/><o:PixelsPerInch>96</o:PixelsPerInch></o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--></head><body><div style="font-family:garamond, new york, times, serif;font-size:16px;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri" size="3">Regarding “Road to Ruin” (1/21), the editors—as always—rely
on the Koch Brothers’ (American Legislative Exchange Council, Illinois Policy
Institute) analysis of yearly Illinois population loss of ¼ of 1% to argue for
lower taxes, decreased environmental and workplace regulation, and governmental
austerity in all areas that actually help people (which excludes military
spending).</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri" size="3">This is part of a national libertarian-neoliberal agenda to convince
state legislatures to participate in a race to the bottom characterized by decreased
taxes on the wealthy, increased concentration of wealth, income stagnation for
at least the bottom 50%, destruction of remaining unions (especially public
employees), privatization of public education, and opposition to private insurance-based
Obamacare, which for the Koch Brothers isn’t privatized enough.</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri" size="3">Such state-level policies, when implemented
in a critical mass of states, insure a continuation of the above trends in all
states, whether they gain or lose population—a trivial artifact of the brutal
class warfare promoted by the Koch Brothers and the editors of the
News-Gazette.</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri" size="3">The federal context of
state-level policy is vital: a privatized healthcare system that wastes a
trillion dollars or two; a military-industrial complex that spends another
trillion in an effort to rule the global economy; Wall Street’s successful legislative
effort to accumulate ½ of national wealth in the hands of the 1%.</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri" size="3">Illinois is indeed burdened by a
regressive state/local tax system that is easy prey for austerity-mongers.
Moreover, both the Koch Brothers-Rauner Republican Party and the Goldman Sachs-Madigan-Emanuel
Democratic Party are in on the fix.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><font face="Calibri"><a class="enhancr_card_7564843518" href="http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2018-01-21/road-ruin.html">Road to ruin</a></font></p><div><br></div><div class="ydpdb8006e6yahoo-link-enhancr-card ydpdb8006e6ymail-preserve-class ydpdb8006e6ymail-preserve-style" id="ydpdb8006e6enhancr_card_7564843518" style="max-width:400px;font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Segoe UI, Arial, sans-serif;" contenteditable="false" data-size="MEDIUM" data-type="YENHANCER" data-url="http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2018-01-21/road-ruin.html"><a class="ydpdb8006e6yahoo-enhancr-cardlink" style="text-decoration:none !important;color:#000 !important;" href="http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2018-01-21/road-ruin.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><table class="ydpdb8006e6card-wrapper ydpdb8006e6yahoo-ignore-table" style="max-width:400px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td width="400"><table width="100%" class="ydpdb8006e6card ydpdb8006e6yahoo-ignore-table" style="max-width:400px;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgb(224, 228, 233);border-radius:2px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td height="175" class="ydpdb8006e6card-primary-image-cell" background="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/ChLwdFJJiacGzi1nWTdvoA--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/http://www.news-gazette.com/sites/all/themes/custom/ng_fbg/images/social.jpg.cf.jpg" valign="top" style='border-radius: 2px 2px 0px 0px; background-image: url("https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/ChLwdFJJiacGzi1nWTdvoA--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/http://www.news-gazette.com/sites/all/themes/custom/ng_fbg/images/social.jpg.cf.jpg"); background-repeat: no-repeat; position: relative; min-height: 175px; background-size: cover; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);' bgcolor="#000000"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;"><v:fill type="frame" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/ChLwdFJJiacGzi1nWTdvoA--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/http://www.news-gazette.com/sites/all/themes/custom/ng_fbg/images/social.jpg.cf.jpg"/></v:rect><![endif]--><table class="ydpdb8006e6card-overlay-container-table ydpdb8006e6yahoo-ignore-table" style="width:100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td class="ydpdb8006e6card-overlay-cell" background="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png" valign="top" style='border-radius: 2px 2px 0px 0px; background-image: url("https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png"); min-height: 175px; background-color: transparent;' bgcolor="transparent"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:-18px;left:0;"><v:fill type="pattern" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png"/><v:textbox inset="0,0,20px,0"><![endif]--><table height="175" class="ydpdb8006e6yahoo-ignore-table" style="width: 100%; min-height: 175px;" border="0"><tbody><tr><td class="ydpdb8006e6card-richInfo2" style="text-align:left;padding:15px 0 0 15px;vertical-align:top;"></td><td class="ydpdb8006e6card-actions" style="text-align:right;padding:15px 15px 0 0;vertical-align:top;"><div class="ydpdb8006e6card-share-container"></div></td></tr></tbody></table><!--[if gte mso 9]></v:textbox></v:rect><![endif]--></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td><table align="center" class="ydpdb8006e6card-info ydpdb8006e6yahoo-ignore-table" style="border-radius: 0px 0px 2px 2px; width: 100%; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-attachment: scroll; border-top-color: rgb(224, 228, 233); border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; position: relative; z-index: 2; max-width: 400px; background-size: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:16px 0 16px 12px;vertical-align:top;border-radius:0 0 0 2px;"></td><td style="vertical-align:middle;padding:12px 24px 16px 12px;width:99%;font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Segoe UI, Arial, sans-serif;border-radius:0 0 2px 0;"><h2 class="ydpdb8006e6card-title" style="font-size:14px;line-height:19px;margin:0 0 6px 0;font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Segoe UI, Arial, sans-serif;word-break:break-word;color:#26282a;">Road to ruin</h2><p class="ydpdb8006e6card-description" style="font-size:12px;line-height:16px;margin:0px;color:#979ba7;word-break:break-word;">Population shifts within the United States — who moves where and why — speaks volumes about how well the 50 stat...</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><p></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><font face="Calibri"><br></font></p>
<br></div></body></html>