Some years ago a relative of mine who had reached that age where things weren’t quite so clear begin receiving credit cards in the mail that were unsolicited. She was pretty excited by the fact that her credit was so good that they would just arbitrarily send her credit cards. One of the cards in particular had checks that came with it so you simply could write the checks and they would clear through the credit card company. I guess you can see what I’m leading up to.
Some of her credit cards had balances that had reached the limit. But for her this was not a problem at all, she simply wrote payments from the checkbook of the other credit card. Needless to say she learned about borrowing money and increasing her debt. She simply dug a hole deeper and deeper.
The state of Illinois has apparently learned this lesson very well, or they will soon learn it very well. The recent tax increases by the legislature are extremely devastating and even more so at this particular time. If raising the taxes weren’t enough they are also borrowing to pay bills thereby, digging that deeper hole.
They try to make us believe that the tax increases will not be devastating to our economy but, that is just not true. An increase in income taxes to individuals simply reduces their buying power. In addition to the costs of what they buy will increase because of taxes levied upon the producer. The corporations of Illinois and of the nation for that matter are not able to compete with foreign markets and a great deal of the problem could be resolved by lowering, not raising taxes on corporations. Increases in costs of production are simply passed along to the buying public.
As we begin to buy less and less produced by our local manufacture jobs are lost because the workforce does not have to be as large. These businesses now become less and less competitive in the world market and at home. Taxes were raised at a time when they should have been reduced.
A New York paper stated that there were 47 states sliding down the slippery slope to bankruptcy with alumni being one of the worst. Attempting to raise taxes and fees to resolve the monetary hemorrhage of the state as we can see, is not the answer. As we speak of bankruptcy it might be a good idea of the state of Illinois and to simply do that.
Bankruptcy would erase the slate and allow for a fresh start it would automatically release the stranglehold of public service unions. It would cause many so-called “entitlements” to be drastically reduced or in some cases eliminated.
Our state is rich in what it takes to make an economy grow. from Cairo in the South to Rockford in the north we have many resources that could be put to use if they were not taxed to death. We have coal, oil and some of the richest farmland in the nation yet they take us to the brink of starvation by taxation. This burden must be lifted in order to return our standard of living to what it was.
The only problem with my idea is that as soon as the state was bankrupted the legislators would again, and very quickly, tax and spend for votes and in no time at all we would be looking at the same picture. The hemorrhage of our state’s money flow is the city of Chicago. They have the horsepower to elect and they have the means after they’re elected to siphon a disproportionate amount of our wealth to their themselves.
I may have oversimplified or method of recovery but I’m sure that most would agree something drastic has to happen. You could speak with the legislators who would agree that something as drastic as bankruptcy would not be “good” for the state but rather damaging to our economy. Of course we must remember that if they don’t bring home the bacon they don’t get reelected.
Do what they might, they should not continue to do what my relative did. Borrow money to make payments on what we have already borrowed.
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One month before Illinois whacked residents with a retroactive income tax hike, Pat Quinn stumped for federal approval of the DREAM Act. Illinois already allows illegal immigrants the public benefit of resident tuition at state schools, an unconscionable giveaway for a state punishing its citizens for years of irresponsible behavior in Springfield. Senate President Cullerton recently tossed out the idea of a tax on seniors’ retirements, and by summertime we should not be surprised if the tax man begins showing up at lemonade stands. A bankruptcy option might sound attractive, except it would encourage more irresponsibility. Term limits would stifle the incentive for the favors, giveaways, and beholdenness that accompany legislative careers that drag on far too long.
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