MORE ON THE MASSACHUSETTS ANTI-INCOME TAX INITIATIVE: “It is David vs. Goliath. The good news is that we have the winning message.”

Plus, will economic problems help the initiative?

As an MBTA employee, George Glidden knows the unions want him to vote against Question 1, which would abolish the state income tax. He’s heard the fears that the ballot question would cause dramatic cuts to state and local services and probably trigger other tax increases to make up the difference.

But taking home an extra $54 or so a week – even, Glidden figures, if he has to pay half or more back in a property-tax hike later – would be worth it.

“It’s about the pocketbook. It’s about everything else going up,” said Glidden, who is 40 and lives in North Attleborough. “If you can give me an extra $20 or $25 a week, that’s a tank of gas – or part of it.”

The last time the income tax question was on the ballot, in 2002, it received little attention but stunned political observers by collecting 45 percent of the vote. At the time, a gallon of gas cost less than $1.50, home prices were soaring, and the economy, if imperfect, was not the dominant issue.

That’s a far cry from 2008. Voters for months have endured unemployment increases, flat or decreasing wages and home values, a rising cost of living, and, for the last two weeks, have watched with unease and even panic as stock prices plunged and the credit crisis spread around the world.

The proponents are styling it a “taxpayer bailout.”