Welcome To Illinois, The Deadbeat State (Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2014) Last year the Land of Lincoln had to defer paying $7 billion owed to contractors. Its bond rating is the worst of any state. Like millions of other Americans, I have spent cautiously, paid bills on time and maintained a strict budget. That doesn’t make us heroes. But it does mean we have exercised common sense, which has been sorely lacking among the politicians in my home state of Illinois. The Land of Lincoln has accrued a $111 billion unfunded liability for government workers’ pensions—up 75% from five years ago. There is an additional $56 billion of unfunded debt to cover health benefits for the state’s retirees. Illinois today is already spending more of its general fund on pensions than on K-12 education. One in four tax dollars pays for its retired workers’ benefits. Last year the state had to defer paying $7 billion owed to contractors. All this after Democrats in 2011 raised income taxes and corporate taxes by 67% and 30%, respectively. It’s getting embarrassing to admit that I’m a citizen of such a deadbeat state. (Commentary by Chicago Attorney Gerald Skoning)
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 15:16:17 +0000
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