A letter-to-the-editor writer in South Bend speaks for countless Hoosiers:
Every day in the news there is information about more cuts that have to be made in local government budgets. Then we hear what tax the mayor of South Bend thinks should be increased to accommodate the government spending habits. Usually, he convinces the Mishawaka Common Council and the St. Joseph County Council to agree and there they go, dipping into our pockets again.
Well, guess what? My pockets are empty.
Some empty pockets matter more than others. The federal government spends far more than it takes in, but when states plead harsdhip, Washington immediately starts talking about a "stimulus package." When cities complain, the state gives them a new tax to replace the old one. All of this is, of course, being done for our benefit, but we're the only ones who have to make the really hard choices. We can't print money, and there is no one we can pass the burden on to.