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IVI-IPO favors raising the federal income tax rate on higher incomes and adoption of a graduated state income tax for Illinois. IVI-IPO opposes expansion of casino gambling unless supported by voters in a statewide referendum. IVI-IPO favors an open and transparent budget process at all levels: city, county, state, and federal, and opposes proposals to cut spending that do not specify which programs will be cut. IVI-IPO opposes structural adjustment programs (SAPs), whether at home or abroad, because they remove control of the economy from the public and reduce services without regard to need. Because the world's poorest countries have levels of debt that create insurmountable barriers to breaking the cycle of poverty, IVI-IPO endorses the principle of international debt forgiveness. IVI-IPO favors publicly funded programs that would put people to work at a living wage rebuilding the country's infrastructure with priority in hiring given to the unemployed, the underemployed, and those no longer eligible for public assistance.