Over the weekend, Georgia Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers took issue with the Macon Telegraph's call for a tax increase:

History is replete with failed attempts at taxing economies to prosperity. Winston Churchill captured it best when he said, “We contend that for a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”

It is often lost on those on the left that state tax dollars do not appear from some magical printing press. The fact is, every time government takes a tax dollar it must come from a Georgian who earned it from the fruits of his or her labor.

Whatever grand notion of government spending The Telegraph opinion writers envision, most assuredly Georgian families taking care of their own needs is far preferable and clearly more efficient than government redistribution.
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Simply put, creating jobs and creating wealth is the only way out of this economic struggle. It is also the only manner by which to fully fund the endless government programs championed by The Telegraph. The fundamental laws of economics prove that economic growth occurs at a more rapid rate with fewer restrictions (lower taxes) as opposed to more restrictions (higher taxes.)

The Telegraph’s suggestion that “leadership” may be found in raising taxes is only accurate if one wants to be “led” off an economic cliff. Real leadership is found in controlling government spending. Raising taxes on struggling Georgia families is defined as cowardice.

Rogers also took a swipe at the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute GBPI), which to this day hasn't put out something not calling for a tax increase. Rogers wrote:

It is also quite curious that The Telegraph would use as its “budget information source” the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. Asking GBPI to validate the notion of raising taxes is akin to seeking Fidel Castro’s approval of Communism. Despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, GBPI will always support the theory that raising taxes helps the economy.