And you thought California was bad?

[Little Raven]

Sure, they have tens of billions of dollars of deficits and a dysfunctional government, but they've got nothing on Illinois.

llinois government is staring down the barrel of an explosive financial mess, and perhaps nothing frames the danger better than two big numbers.

The first is $26 billion, the grand total that lawmakers have allotted this year for the meat of what the state does: funding education, health care, child welfare, public safety and the machinery of government itself.

The second number is $13 billion, the total of red ink in the state's main checking account that, by law, has to be erased — at least on paper — before a penny can be set aside for day-to-day operations in the fiscal year, which begins July 1.

In short, the deficit is half as big as the core of the state budget.

So, time for for layoffs, no? Gotta cut spending somehow...

Consider this: The head count of state workers is 20 percent smaller than it was a decade ago. If the state payroll was magically purged of every single employee, the annual salary savings would amount to $4 billion, less than one-third of what is needed right now to dig out of the deficit hole.

That's right. If you fired every single person in the government, they'd still have a deficit of over 8 billion dollars a year.

Wow. I don't even know how you begin to deal with that mess.

 

[Karalysia]

Raise taxes on the wealthy. Oregon increased taxes on the top bracket by 1.8% and from what I hear they're getting a pretty penny. It's really simple. A sufficently large increase of the top brackets combined with increase of sin tax on ciggerates, sugary foods, fatty foods, soft drinks etc... should solve it nicely eh?

 

[Cutlass]

You think that's bad, you need to check Connecticut. And a number of other states. It's pretty ugly out there.

 

[Godwynn]

Yessir, my university stated that it might have to shut down in March. I literally stopped reading the school newspaper out of fear.

My father told me on Monday that he will be losing his job come May.

Both of my parents work for the State of Illinois.

I wish VRWCAgent would raise a militia of Missourians and come liberate me.

 

[JohnRM]

I am by no means a conservative. I'd like to think of myself as independent, but I think most of my views would be considered "moderate" or "left-leaning".

BUT...

I just marvel at how the ultra-liberal states seem to be those that are falling apart in the financial crisis.

 

[warpus]

Why don't they just raise taxes a bit?

 

[Godwynn]

Why don't they just raise taxes a bit?

Governor Pat Quinn is trying to raise taxes on the "rich" (I don't know the exact number of people) from 3% to 4.5%.

It has met opposition from the Republicans and some Democrats.

 

[Cutlass]

I am by no means a conservative. I'd like to think of myself as independent, but I think most of my views would be considered "moderate" or "left-leaning".

BUT...

I just marvel at how the ultra-liberal states seem to be those that are falling apart in the financial crisis.

On the other hand, the Republicans have the balance of power in the weird California budget process, Connecticut has not had a Democratic governor since 1990 (Though the Dems control the legislature, but many represent big money districts and so are not fiscally liberal). Arizona, New Mexico, Kentucky, and Virginia also have some of the largest deficits by at least one measure. And it looks like only 2 states have really good budgets, and those are small population states that recently discovered oil.

 

[warpus]

Governor Pat Quinn is trying to raise taxes on the "rich" (I don't know the exact number of people) from 3% to 4.5%.

It has met opposition from the Republicans and some Democrats.

Well.. what else can you do?

Didn't the rich have to pay fairly regular (compared tothe rest of the western world) taxes before Raegan lowered them to hell? Seems like that is causing a lot of problems..

 

[Godwynn]

Well.. what else can you do?

Didn't the rich have to pay fairly regular (compared tothe rest of the western world) taxes before Raegan lowered them to hell? Seems like that is causing a lot of problems..

Dunno, I was just stating income tax rates for Illinois. It is a flat 3% no matter how much money is earned!

Quinn barely squeaked by the primary where his challenger's biggest issue was his wanting to raise income taxes.

Bad news bears.

 

[Little Raven]

I just marvel at how the ultra-liberal states seem to be those that are falling apart in the financial crisis.

Illinois is ultra liberal? Their state government is actually pretty purple....they had Republican governors from '77 to 2000, and the legislature bounces around quite a bit too. In fact, more notable than political party is the fact that two of their most recent governor's (one a Republican, one a Democrat) are either in prison or headed there. Likewise, California has a Republican governor, and a powerful Republican group in the legislature. New Jersey also flips around quite a bit at the state level - half of the last 12 governors have been Republican. Meanwhile, Kentucky, which is as red as it gets, is in horrendous shape. Arizona and Virginia are also screwed, and they both lean solidly red, though they've turned a bit more purple in recent years.

Point being, I'm not sure the evidence supports your conclusion.

 

[Little Raven]

Well.. what else can you do?

Slash spending. Though at this point, it's probably impossible to slash enough spending without declaring bankruptcy, which would be....interesting....to say the least.

Illinois hasn't raised taxes in 20 years. But they've engaged in a lot of shady accounting tricks (by both parties) to avoid paying the piper for decades. That bill is starting to come due.

 

[bhsup]

RIVERBOATS, DAWG! Legalize that gambling and watch the money come pouring in. Don't worry about the social costs...

 

[Tani Coyote]

Legalise gay marriage, (or at least decriminalise) recreational marijuana, prostitution, and gambling, alongside some spending cuts, and see the tax revenue pour in. Ideally, opening these pioneer industries would be enough to prevent any tax raises on current activities.

 

[yesboii]

Raise taxes on the wealthy. Oregon increased taxes on the top bracket by 1.8% and from what I hear they're getting a pretty penny. It's really simple. A sufficently large increase of the top brackets combined with increase of sin tax on ciggerates, sugary foods, fatty foods, soft drinks etc... should solve it nicely eh?

What happens when the rich move out of Illinois then?

 

[schlaufuchs]

Legalise gay marriage, (or at least decriminalise) recreational marijuana, prostitution, and gambling, alongside some spending cuts, and see the tax revenue pour in. Ideally, opening these pioneer industries would be enough to prevent any tax raises on current activities.

That or raise taxes. Those, in my opinion, are the two best options. The problem California (maybe with Illinois), is that thanks to the referendum system, parts of the budget get set aside for certain programs, but they never indicate how to pay for the measure. This means that when it gets passed, the budget is tied down, and few things can get changed or cut, and since our legislature is set up all stupid, we can't ever change the budget system or raise taxes to deal with all the problems we have...

 

[warpus]

What happens when the rich move out of Illinois then?

The market will re-balance itself, prices of luxurious dwellings will drop, and more rich dudes will move back in.

 

[JohnRM]

On the other hand, the Republicans have the balance of power in the weird California budget process, Connecticut has not had a Democratic governor since 1990 (Though the Dems control the legislature, but many represent big money districts and so are not fiscally liberal). Arizona, New Mexico, Kentucky, and Virginia also have some of the largest deficits by at least one measure. And it looks like only 2 states have really good budgets, and those are small population states that recently discovered oil.

It would be a pretty big leap to call New Mexico or Virginia hardcore Republican states. I could settle with Arizona and Kentucky, but particularly with Arizona, it has a lot less to do with politics than it does with the housing market crisis. But, of course, the same is true of California, to an extent. Illinois' problem is rampant corruption.

 

[JohnRM]

Illinois is ultra liberal? Their state government is actually pretty purple....they had Republican governors from '77 to 2000, and the legislature bounces around quite a bit too. In fact, more notable than political party is the fact that two of their most recent governor's (one a Republican, one a Democrat) are either in prison or headed there. Likewise, California has a Republican governor, and a powerful Republican group in the legislature. New Jersey also flips around quite a bit at the state level - half of the last 12 governors have been Republican. Meanwhile, Kentucky, which is as red as it gets, is in horrendous shape. Arizona and Virginia are also screwed, and they both lean solidly red, though they've turned a bit more purple in recent years.

Point being, I'm not sure the evidence supports your conclusion.

Yea, you're probably right.

 

[yesboii]

The market will re-balance itself, prices of luxurious dwellings will drop, and more rich dudes will move back in.

But how do they intent to pay for the deficits if there are no rich people to excessively tax?