She lied. It's what politicians do. Rossi would have lied also, as he continues to do. The state would still be in a fiscal mess had Rossi been elected, but the mess would be arranged somewhat differently is all.

I understand that state government is in a very tough fiscal bind. And there is no easy way out. The proposed income tax would help somewhat. And if I thought for a second that the governor and legislature could be trusted with "our public trust," I'd even vote for it. But like many, I am 99% certain that after the necessary two year wait, the legislature will expand the base that the income tax applies to, while changing nothing with the sales tax. I'd vote for a graduated state income tax in a heartbeat if, and only if, the state sales tax and B&O tax were repealed by the same measure.

Regardless of the tax system, sales or income, there is no way for state revenue to be immune from the swings in the economy, and ultimately that is a good thing. It's bad for all of us on a temporal scale, but experiencing periodic negative effects is necessary for the body politic to keep in touch with social and economic reality.

Sg