Thanks to decades of leftist policies in the Land of Lincoln, the prosperity which created “the city that works” is rapidly becoming a fond memory. Illinois is now so broke they’re issuing I.O.U.s to lotto winners!
Steven Moore offers a cautionary tale at Townhall.com, ~ Anatomy of a Failed Liberal State ~
Why should residents of other states care about this financial meltdown in Chicago and Illinois? The answer is that Chicago is the canary in the coal mine when it comes to the government pension crisis. Pensions for teachers and state employees are bleeding the state dry. A state budget office spokesman tells me that “nearly one of three state tax dollars now goes to paying pensions for retired municipal and state employees.”
Meanwhile, tax increases on the rich under the previous governor failed to raise much money, but did accelerate an exodus of money and talent out of the state. […]
It couldn’t get much worse, right? Wrong. The state has been operating without a new budget for more than two months. Vendors are routinely going two or three months without getting paid because the vault is empty. The Democrats who rule the state Legislature and serve their masters, the Illinois teachers unions, passed a $34 billion budget this summer that is $5 billion in the red, flouting the state’s balanced budget requirement.
The rest of the country ignores this looming economic implosion at its peril.
What is scary is that the fiscal virus that has incapacitated this once-great city and state may soon spread to a city or town near you. Amazingly, national Democrats are saying with straight faces that to help American workers and make the country great again we need more powerful unions.
Here’s a thought; why not go with what actually works? Considering that Wisconsin governor Scott Walker was elected twice and survived a recall vote in the interim, maybe he’s on to something ~ Scott Walker Calls For Labor Reforms, Including Ban On Public Employee Unions ~
Just days before the next Republican presidential debate, Walker is offering bold proposals for national labor reform, ending the special legal advantages carved out for unions… and prohibiting public employee unions altogether […]
“I believe that fairness and opportunity for workers results from freedom. Freedom that allows workers and employers to create flexibility, choice, and innovation in the workplace. Unfortunately, many of the nation’s federal labor laws and regulations have stood as a roadblock to fairness and opportunity, and instead have created rigid, top-down workplaces that don’t really work for Americans,” Walker said.
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Related:
Watch: Amazing Graphic Shows Chicago’s Middle Class Disappear Before Your Eyes
