Ed Rutledge for Lieutenant Governor

I am lucky. I have a wonderful family. I have a job which I enjoy, and which I do well.

I earn a decent wage, and my family does not live extravagantly – our home loan is modest, my family rarely eats out, I drive an old car, our vacations are done on the cheap, and we do our best to fix things when they break. Still, it seems that no matter how fast I run, the treadmill seems to go just a bit faster. So where does all of my money go?

Mortgage, utilities, groceries, … These typical expenses certainly add up. But my biggest expenditure, by far, is government. About half of my income goes directly and indirectly to the government. And that percentage is rising. Every year, government takes just a little (or a lot!) more. Income tax, property tax, sales tax, taxes on gas, taxes on beer, payroll tax for our kids' nanny – yes I pay it. I am taxed on my phone, on my utilities, on my dog…

Even though I feel like I am one of the lucky ones, with a good, steady income, I am watching myself getting taxed into poverty. And for what? I don’t feel better off, or more secure. Do you? So what are they making us pay for – special interests, corruption, general waste?

So why am I running? I am running to reduce the size, the scope, and the cost of government, to let citizens keep more of what they earn and manage their own lives, and to bring prosperity and integrity back to Illinois. I am running so that my children can inherit a state that is debt free and sustainably prosperous.

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