Regarding Rabbi Ari Hart’s op-ed, “Father Pfleger, if you stand for social justice, then you must disavow Louis Farrakhan” (May 21): Had Hart instead insisted that Pfleger “must disagree with Louis Farrakhan,” his argument could have taken a more Talmudic and less defensive position.
Anti-Semitism has existed since Jews first lived on Earth and will continue to exist so long as there are people populating Earth: Disavowal won’t eliminate it, legislation won’t erase it and there is no convincing anti-Semites otherwise. There will always be those who hate Jews, even educated people — even religious people.
The danger to Jews comes when anti-Semitism gives rise to action against Jews, and the only remedy for that is laws, which we know don’t always work. This is a cause for concern, but in this area, we aren’t alone; other groups also considered “other” are suffering as well.
I’m certain that the Rev. Michael Pfleger does not agree with Farrakhan; his invitation did not imply support or applause, but rather a welcome to discourse as a vehicle for further discussion, politically correct or not.
Farrakhan’s belief that he is doing God’s will can convince others, even a multitude of others, of the righteousness of his way; disavowal will not prevent his followers from expressing the same sentiments, but his ideology blinds him and those like him to the reality that he may not be following God’s will.
— Gerson Ecker, Chicago
State needs a fair tax system
Illinois’ tax system is unfair and inadequate. Ranked as the eighth-most regressive state and local tax system in the country by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, our state’s flat income tax rate imposes the same rate on a millionaire that it does on a mom and dad struggling to stay in the middle class. It leans far too heavily on property taxes to fund education, and the result is a wide gap in school funding between rich and poor districts.
To inject more state funding into Illinois’ school systems and reduce the inequities in funding among them, we need to first fix the state’s income tax. With a fair tax amendment that allows higher income tax rates for people with higher incomes (and lower rates for people with lower incomes), Illinois can fund education more equitably and reduce the reliance on property taxes by school districts.
The National Education Association released a report last month that shows Illinois ranked among the bottom worst (41st) when it came to state revenue as a percentage of total revenue receipts for education (2016-17). By contrast, Indiana ranked 10th and Iowa ranked 16th.
Illinois’ ranking was better than what it achieved in the prior year’s report. One reason for the improvement is the new school aid formula the state adopted in 2017 with an additional $350 million for education and the promise to put an additional $350 million into the system for each of the next nine years. Only the state didn’t identify a source for the additional money, which some education advocates say is still too low to reduce inequities in school funding.
Recent commentary suggests high property taxes are a reason to oppose the fair tax constitutional amendment. Our current property tax rates (and the accompanying inequities in school funding) are largely the result of state government not properly funding public schools, instead shifting those responsibilities to local property owners.
Addressing the state’s current education funding needs and property tax rates by increasing the flat tax rate would not provide the relief to low- and middle-income households that could be gained through a fair tax. Illinois needs to adopt a fair tax.
— Mitch Lifson, Voices for Illinois Children, Chicago
America, learn from other nations
In a recent interview for his new book “Upheaval,” which looks at how nations recover from trauma, Jared Diamond commented that Americans should check out how other well-developed nations have solved and are solving many of the truly serious problems facing our country today. It does the U.S. no good for politicians and citizens to imagine that our country is so exceptional that it has nothing to learn from others.
— Lanlan Hoo, Wheaton