Apparently, according to the House Republicans, the budget can be balanced without any negative impact on people whatsoever. That’s a complete, total, irresponsible, idiotic lie. One way or another, somebody is gonna get hit, whether it’s tax hikes or budget cuts or both. That’s actually what Rep. Lisa Dugan was talking about, if you watch the unedited video. This painless magical fairy dust idea of theirs just turns my stomach.
* Speaking of visits from magical fairies, Gov. Pat Quinn yesterday reiterated his claim that Bill Brady has some secret tax hike planned…
Quinn accused Brady of having a “secret set” of budget proposals that he doesn’t want to share with voters until after the November election, something Quinn called “the Republican way” because some GOP governors have worked to raise taxes after getting elected.
“That’s what Sen. Brady is all about and we shouldn’t let him get away with it, especially after 10 years of problems with governors who weren’t straightforward with the people,” Quinn said after appearing separately from Brady at a Chicago candidate forum that was closed to the press. “I try to be as honest and direct about everything, including the budget, including revenue.”
* But Jim Edgar didn’t help matters much when he said yesterday that Brady’s cuts aren’t enough and tax hikes may be in the cards…
Former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar says a 10 percent spending cut may not solve the state’s budget problems and Illinois residents eventually might support higher taxes.
Bill Brady, the Republican candidate for governor, backs a 10 percent cut coupled with tax reductions to balance the Illinois budget. That amounts to less than $2 billion in cuts, compared to a deficit of roughly $13 billion.
Edgar told reporters Thursday there may come a time when Illinoisans oppose more spending cuts and would be ready for a tax increase.
Edgar says he does not think Brady is planning any tax surprises if he wins the November election. But he counsels Brady to be flexible.
Does Bill Brady want to hike taxes? No. Does he have a secret plan to hike taxes? No. Will he wake up to a very stark reality once he puts his budget together? Yes. Does that mean he will hike taxes? I really doubt it, but the problem is so bad that he may do something along those lines.
* And while the candidates and parties “debate” their little fantasies, we got more bad news yesterday…
Moody’s Investors Service Inc. on Thursday lowered its rating outlook for Illinois’ general obligation debt, citing the state’s continuing problems funding is pension program and a fiscal shortfall.
The state’s rating now stands at A1 with a negative outlook. It previously stood at A1 with a stable outlook.
The change will affect roughly $25 billion in general obligation bonds. […]
Moody’s said that the state does have the ability to raise revenue and reduce spending, both of which could help improve its rating and outlook.
“We see risks that could trigger a downgrade in the next 18 months to two years,” Ted Hampton, an analyst with Moody’s, said in an interview from New York. “In June these risks were less apparent.” […]
The yield of taxable Build America Bonds issued by Illinois in June has risen to almost 2.5 percentage points above benchmark 30-year Treasury bonds from just over 2 percentage points on June 24.
Rich - apologies if I’ve missed it, but could you post the media points that candidates are putting behind their ads if you know? The content can be good or bad, but I’m curious how much impact some of these will have based on how much is being spent to get them aired.
Since Sen. Brady obviously believes that the Budget Fairy will slip under his pillow the $14 billion Illinois needs to balance its budget before he wakes up on Inauguration morning, perhaps the foolish voters who plan on voting for this con artist should buy him the largest pillow possible ASAP. After all, $14 billion is going to need a really big pillow.
People don’t want to hear the truth. They want to hear that there will have to be no sacrifice by anyone and somehow our $13 billion deficit will disappear. De’nial ain’t just a river in Egypt, brother. It is irrepsonsible and wrong of politicians to mislead people about the future. Yet, if they want to get elected, that is what the people seemingly want them to do.
Assuming Brady does win- what he truly needs to do is promise that for every additional dollar raised with new taxes- he will cut spending by an equal amount-most taxpayers understand the state is in a fiscal mess but we want someone to responsibly address the problem- with Quinn all we get is more spending to protect his union supporters
One Man, I wouldn’t say that, but I think the Tea Partiers dig the fear and resentment a lot more than most. Appeals to reason don’t excite the blood. Maybe I’ve missed their reasonable solutions to our common problems that go beyond sloganeering.
- He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 10:41 am:
The youtube page shows the date for that Dugan video as August 30th. That thing is a month old. That’s some crackerjack reporting. I wonder when BP is going to cap the well?
Wordslinger, I consider myself a conservative and libertarian … I even agree with most of the Tea Party. At the same time, I also agree with what Dugan said in the full video … and everyone I know with similar leanings feel the same way … we all know a combination of cuts and a temporary tax increase is needed, so I guess that makes us fully informed voters instead of someone just repeating liberal newspaper talking points …
We need to make some distinction, to be fair, between the Tea Partiers, and the generally fed-up and disenchanted Republicans and Republican-leaning independents this season.
My sense from talking to some of the Tea Partiers, at least, is that they are decently aware of the budget problems, and the great challenge of cutting spending without raising taxes. Not all of them … but many of the true activists.
The big problem of course is that the Tea Party activists remain a relatively tiny slice of the electorate. To win, you gotta appeal to plenty of people beyond that core activist base, and there people remain woefully uninformed of the true budget, and just how much of the spending goes to popular causes that will be very painful politically - to them - to cut. In other words, they are tailor-made for pandering to, and the GOP is obliging.
All of which to say is, just wait if the Tea Party candidates ever -do- get elected to power, in Illinois or nationwide. The disenchantment with Obama from some of his base will probably be flipped like a coin. Already some real Tea Party activists are blasting the national GOP “Pledge to America” for its vagueness about spending cuts.
That’s the problem with all “change” revolutions in this country, whether led by Democrats or Republicans. They tend to hit brick reality in short order. And that’s not altogether a bad thing.
Get over the Tea Parties and start joining thm. A lot of pundits who knocked them are doing that now.
Governor Christy is demonstrating how to tell the ugly truth to voters and his popularity has gone up 20 percent doing so.
Voters are not into fear. They are not any different from you. In 2010 voters know that something has gone terribly wrong. If you want to keep selling the old 2008 elixir in this age go ahead and lose 2010.
Stop knocking those selling the new stuff.
Dugan told the truth without doing it well. It is not the truth voters are not accepting. They do not want to hear the ugly truth from an incumbent who was elected to fix the problems. Do you want to hear from your mechanic that he did not fix you car and now the costs of fixing it are even higher?
When voters hear an incumbent telling them bad news, they are also understanding that the incumbent FAILED. In 2010 voters do not have faith in their governments enough to give incumbents enough trust to give them a second chance.
If the ugly truth is coming from a challenger, voters are more accepting because that is the normal role of any challenger. Voters know challengers are not responsible because they are not in office. Only blinded partisans judge challengers by tying a party to them. In 2010 voters are looking for NEW PEOPLE.
Stop insulting Tea Partiers. Just because you are comfortable and have no concerns does not mean that those who do are acting like idiots. Remember that when a ship sinks the third class passengers are yelling out in fear first.while you are having cocktails and complaing to your servants about their yelling.
===Remember that when a ship sinks the third class passengers are yelling out in fear first.while you are having cocktails and complaing to your servants about their yelling.===
LOL. Wrong. Although they may be complaining about the yelling while having cocktails on the helicopters whisking them away to safety.
Brady believes across the board spending cuts without tax increases will solve the problem while Quinn thinks tax increases without spending cuts is the solution. Both men are delusional in their outlook. One doesn’t have to be a Mensa member to figure out that wide ranging changes in policy needs to be made to right the Illinois ship of State. Everyone will have to have some skin in the game, and this will mean taxing retirement income, pension reform, school funding reform and many others. Unfortunately, the candidate that tells the truth about these issues will have a hard time being heard over the noise made by the establishment fairy dust and manure salesmen.
This is where Quinn blew it, twice. His first budget should have been doomsday. He could have unveiled it with a tear running down his cheek to show how it was contrary to everything he believes in. Instead, he led with the tax hike. D’oh! Earth to Quinn: the tax hike is the last option, not the first option.
And he could/should have done it this year, too. We’ve got no choice but to cut the crap out of … prison, higher ed, school funding, and everything else that members and communities from both parties support.
If he could have stuck to his guns, he might have been able to build a coalition to get the tax increase he wanted and specify some cuts, rather than this, it’s anyone’s guess as to what’s being cut/restored/cut again by day.
Instead, he campaigns against the very fake cuts he first proposed and has rendered himself unbelievable and limp as both a governor and a candidate.
He is, after all, Pat Quinn and there might be a reason he was out of any real elected office for so long.
WRNM … which is why Brady will win the election, because he at least gets the “cut” part of it, which is what the voters want. If it doesn’t hurt and you don’t see political hacks losing State jobs, they haven’t cut enough.
I expect Brady will also come around to a tax increase which could be sold if it is (a) really, truly temporary with a fixed sunset and (b) dedicated to eliminating the deficit and, maybe, shoring up the pension funds. That would improve Illinois’ business climate, just paying the State’s bills on time. It would also immediately improve the bond ratings. But if he tries to make it a permanent increase, I don’t think it can be sold to the public.
The other tax that could be sold would be a income tax increase in exchange for an equal property tax decrease … but again, only if there is a permanent prohibition on later raising the property taxes. But this isn’t a real solution, just a shifting since the new money would have to go to pay the schools the money lost from the property tax. But it would be a winner from a “feel good” standpoint with homeowners, especially seniors being taxed out of their houses.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 11:48 am:
The $13 Billion dollar deficit figure popped up in February 2010. It is now September. Is it still $13 Billion? Has it increased? Has it decreased?
Revenues have decreased substantially this year. Quinn is (allegedly) making severe cuts in services to prevent the deficit from growing and making it decrease.
The legislature dropped the budgetary hot potato right on Quinn’s lap. I’m no Quinn fan, and I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes, but . . .
I am ashamed of the House Republicans for this Lisa Dugan ad.
They have been claiming for years that the budget crisis is not their fault. They just lost any rights to that argument. Here, they show not only that they have no grasp of the budget problem, but that they think it is okay to slander someone who does. They claim she says the OPPOSITE of what she said. What disgusting behavior, especially in the face of a crisis such as this. I am deeply embarrassed for Tom Cross and all of them.
I can’t believe how few people in the House have the guts to even talk about the catastrophe facing Illinois. I respect Lisa Dugan for doing it.
47th street … we still have something with black ink on white paper that shows up on the doorstep every morning. They call themselves newspapers although the only one still mostly adhering to true objective journalist standards is the London Times. Even the NYT has taken to slanting stories instead of reporting them by inserting prejudicial adjectives into their news stories … and most the others don’t even try to hide their bias. What ever happened to “Just the Facts, Madam”?
“How many “conservative, libertarian, Tea Party” votes do you think you would get in the GA for a such a plan?”
Not many because no one has the guts to do what needs to be done. This year the Dems didn’t need the GOP votes and they didn’t have the guts to do it either. I’ll give you the fact that in the recent past nobody trusted Rod to not rip it off, but they had the opportunity to do what was right after Quinn took over … they preferred to play it safe instead.
In fact, if my memory is correct, the major tax reforms / increases the past half century have only occurred with GOP leadership. Dems have no trouble spending tax money in this State, they just have a problem raising it.
Retired non-union guy,
Would HB 174 (income tax increase, sales tax expansion, maximizing fed stimulus and match and 2.5 to 3 billion in cuts) be playing it safe?
That did pass the senate last year, but when no where in the House.
Piling It On @ 11:39am has it exactly right about Quinn. That seems to be the way he maneuvers everything, so that he defeats his own principles AND makes the most people mad.
> Governor Christy is demonstrating how to tell the ugly truth to voters and his popularity has gone up 20 percent doing so.
You have a point.
I think we should follow closely in Governor Christie and NJ’s footsteps. We should start by creating a progressive state income tax, with a top marginal rate of 9%, and then yes, let’s talk about cutting it down a bit.
A couple of thoughts, and they are related. One, no one lays out a detailed plan to balance the budget because of (if honest) how brutal it would be, whether cuts, tax increases, or both. Too many of the cutters want to believe you don’t need a tax increase, and too many tax increasers seem to want to hold every dollar of spending sacrosanct.
Second, I’ve believed for a 2 or 3 years now that the problem could be the solution. I believe if a Governor introduced a truly balanced budget, whether thru tax increases or cuts, and the 4 leaders told their members, this is it. You vote for this or you vote for a compromise we all agree on, members would be begging their leaders for a chance to vote for a compromise.
The Clinton/Dem wave was pushed along mightly by that whole no taxes pledge from Bush.
Seems like dangerous ground for the GOP to weep themselves in on a no tax pledge; they may just be setting themselves up to be ousted in mass themselves.
Oh, by the way, neither 174 nor 750 solves the problem now. It has been allowed to get too big for those, So, one of those PLUS substantial cuts, would be needed….
Tax elimination is fine but somehow budgets have to be balanced. Has Gov. Christie (NJ) kep services going? If we learn anything from the city and county budgets is that ignoring it doesn’t improve it. Daley has scraped every lease clean while not cutting headcount, increasing taxes and cutting spending and will leave the next mayor an $800M budget hole, great legacy mayor. And the state legislature totally walked from their duties and left Quinn to borrow so we have to pay an additional couple hundred million dollars in interest this year, enough to fund programs. So Madigan, Quinn, Daley, a pox on all your houses!
i’m with 47th ward. if someone can just point me to the “liberal media” in illinois, i’d appreciate it. been here ten years and haven’t seen hide nor hair of it…
November 3rd. If within two years there are still these concerns among our citizenry then expect the yelling to continue again.
Sorry if they are disturbing your sleep. That is democracy ya know!
Voters are out to punish and incumbents in swing districts are going to the gallows soon. Party switch. Again. You can handle it. It will switch again.
In 2012 I would expect a purge of the GOP if things do not improve.Bill and Pat Brady got one term.
The concept of “temporary” tax increases to balance the budget and lower the massive deficit is a non- starter. The Illinois tax code was created when the largest source of income was from the sale of products and manufacturing, this is no longer the case as our economy is service based. This alone will necessitate a shift to taxing the purchase of services. Additionally, Illinois needs to expand its tax base. Waiting for business expansion or the economy to improve is not the answer. Closing of tax provisions that are outdated, as well as beginning to tax income that has previously been exempt from tax, such as retirement income, will more equitably spread that tax burden. As to the question of cuts, removing headcount in state government will only provide a miniscule benefit. it will take removal of redundant services, ending popular but ineffective programs, and limiting spending to core services of government. All of these are quite painful measures and take a governor and legislature that is more interested in having a functioning state than their own election.
I do not believe that Quinn has ever said we don’t have to cut spending. I know for a fact that he started his administration with a fact finding commission Tax Payer Action Board. This was a bi-partisan commission and many of the suggestions are being implemented.
Just putting the leases of office space alone has cut $20 Million a year.
There is no quick fix or silver bullet to reduce a $13 Billion deficit.
This will take multiple years and many different tactics to bring us out of this economic disaster.
VMan, only petulant children keep yelling. Grownups suck it up and face the truth.
I’ve got no problem with democracy, brother. But democracy works best when reason trumps emotion, or passion as they used to say.
Glad to see you’re already planning your 2012 “purge.” Can’t get started soon enough.
- Small Town Liberal - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 2:46 pm:
- which is why Brady will win the election, because he at least gets the “cut” part of it -
What a joke. All Brady says is 10% across the board cuts. He doesn’t get anything. Quinn has actually made targeted cuts in an attempt to find real solutions. As has been said before, I didn’t see any of you anti-government types commending Quinn for any of that.
WRMN … I know personnel cuts won’t make a hill of beans difference in the overall budget, but the symbolism of politically connected know-nothings getting axed would go a long ways with the voters. I used to get so tired of having to re-educate / re-train some political clown appointed over me every couple of years. I understand the problem is even worse now where they just parachute in to rubber stamp their resume and then move on in six months to a year to another position they aren’t qualified for.
Piling on - yes, the Senate passed one … but it doesn’t matter if you either can’t get the votes in the House or you already know the House is going to kill it … they could of done it and didn’t
Don’t kid yourself. After the election, there are going to be loads of layoffs. Trot out any stat you want, but come January, many will be let go and fewer will be hired.
$13 billion is a big number. And no election of for two years,
You are mistaking citizens feeling on the edge to petulant children? Have you read Rich’s column today? Would you tell the unemployed the foreclosed the new colege grad the overtaxed citizen to stop yelling as they go into bankruptsies?
Of course you wouldn’t. Have a heart..
The yelling will stop November 3rd if it appears that our governments got the message that they are failures on notice. The new folks have two years or they are gone.If they continue spending as they have the yelling will begin.
It is kind of like a guy with a knife in his back that the incumbents keep twisting. They claim that the pain will stop but only put in ear plugs when the guy starts yelling in pain again. We all get it that the incumbents think their methods could cure but why can’t they show respect to those demanding they stp? He isn’t getting better. The incumbent’s cure is worse than the desease.
Brady has two years to show an improvement.voters think is fair. If we are worse off or not as well off as we like then he and his people are gone.This is a huge disaster. He can easily be a one term governor under current projections.
Until November 2nd there will be yelling and fighting and lies and promises. Heads will roll. Sacred cows will become hamburger.It is better than if the angry masses started shooting. Right?
Why is it that a tax increase is “The Truth”? They said the same thing in New Jersey and that all they could do was raise taxes. Christy seems to be living up to his promise of no new taxes and is on the way to a balanced budget.
why is it so hard to understand that the State government can’t even come up with a list of all it’s departments and offices. It can’t give us a list of who is getting health care or even if they live in Illinois. Why should the tax payers continue to pay for a public education system that up in my area pays more than half it’s teachers over $100,000 with raises every year when my house is now worth 35% less than it was 3 years ago? To ask that Teachers take a cut is fringe? It is a far right point of view? Why should they have free health care for life? What about stopping pensions for state reps and state senators? Why should some one like Judy Barr lose her Treasurers job and collect more in pensions than she made as Treasurer? Now if she wins she will have 4 pensions? Come on! Times change, people are better informed now and the old style politics are dead.
This wave that is coming is bigger than you guys can know; it will force the changes I listed above.
Rich, thanks for dedicating the day to budget. You truly are outside the mainstream. I don’t think the Red Eye, et all believe we have the intestinal fortitude to deal with this.
What I would do?
After watching Dylan Ratigan today, I’d ask Deepak Chopra.
I agree with Bureaucrat Dan. Shame on the House Republicans for misusing Dugan’s words. But I suppose that’s par for the course in campaign ads. Somehow this one feels worse. Kudos for Dugan for respecting her constituents enough to really explain what the situation means for her district.
- Anon - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 10:14 am:
Rich - apologies if I’ve missed it, but could you post the media points that candidates are putting behind their ads if you know? The content can be good or bad, but I’m curious how much impact some of these will have based on how much is being spent to get them aired.
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 10:21 am:
Yeah, Dugan made the dual mistakes of telling the the truth and appealing to reason.
Everybody knows that in the era of Tea Parties lies and appealing to emotions like anger, fear and resentment are what work.
It cracks me up that this deficit “debate” can go on so long without any actual real solution being proposed.
- fedup dem - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 10:23 am:
Since Sen. Brady obviously believes that the Budget Fairy will slip under his pillow the $14 billion Illinois needs to balance its budget before he wakes up on Inauguration morning, perhaps the foolish voters who plan on voting for this con artist should buy him the largest pillow possible ASAP. After all, $14 billion is going to need a really big pillow.
- bdogg - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 10:26 am:
People don’t want to hear the truth. They want to hear that there will have to be no sacrifice by anyone and somehow our $13 billion deficit will disappear. De’nial ain’t just a river in Egypt, brother. It is irrepsonsible and wrong of politicians to mislead people about the future. Yet, if they want to get elected, that is what the people seemingly want them to do.
- OneMan - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 10:26 am:
== Everybody knows that in the era of Tea Parties lies and appealing to emotions like anger, fear and resentment are what work ==
Yes because we all know no one did that in politics before 2008…
Before 2008 campaign ads we all positive and filled with happy bunnies. No one ever used a negative word or thought before those Tea Party folks.
Also the Tea Party is filled with the folks who take one sock out of your dryer and are the ones who steal your paper in the morning
Glad you got that all figured out wordslinger.
- Sue - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 10:27 am:
Assuming Brady does win- what he truly needs to do is promise that for every additional dollar raised with new taxes- he will cut spending by an equal amount-most taxpayers understand the state is in a fiscal mess but we want someone to responsibly address the problem- with Quinn all we get is more spending to protect his union supporters
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 10:35 am:
One Man, I wouldn’t say that, but I think the Tea Partiers dig the fear and resentment a lot more than most. Appeals to reason don’t excite the blood. Maybe I’ve missed their reasonable solutions to our common problems that go beyond sloganeering.
- He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 10:41 am:
Governor Edgar–JUST GO AWAY!!!
- We Todd Did - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 10:51 am:
The youtube page shows the date for that Dugan video as August 30th. That thing is a month old. That’s some crackerjack reporting. I wonder when BP is going to cap the well?
- Retired Non-Union Guy - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 10:52 am:
Wordslinger, I consider myself a conservative and libertarian … I even agree with most of the Tea Party. At the same time, I also agree with what Dugan said in the full video … and everyone I know with similar leanings feel the same way … we all know a combination of cuts and a temporary tax increase is needed, so I guess that makes us fully informed voters instead of someone just repeating liberal newspaper talking points …
- Rich Miller - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 10:52 am:
Hey, I just noticed it earlier this week. Nobody else has covered it, so it qualifies as “new” news. That’s my story.
- ZC - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 11:01 am:
We need to make some distinction, to be fair, between the Tea Partiers, and the generally fed-up and disenchanted Republicans and Republican-leaning independents this season.
My sense from talking to some of the Tea Partiers, at least, is that they are decently aware of the budget problems, and the great challenge of cutting spending without raising taxes. Not all of them … but many of the true activists.
The big problem of course is that the Tea Party activists remain a relatively tiny slice of the electorate. To win, you gotta appeal to plenty of people beyond that core activist base, and there people remain woefully uninformed of the true budget, and just how much of the spending goes to popular causes that will be very painful politically - to them - to cut. In other words, they are tailor-made for pandering to, and the GOP is obliging.
All of which to say is, just wait if the Tea Party candidates ever -do- get elected to power, in Illinois or nationwide. The disenchantment with Obama from some of his base will probably be flipped like a coin. Already some real Tea Party activists are blasting the national GOP “Pledge to America” for its vagueness about spending cuts.
That’s the problem with all “change” revolutions in this country, whether led by Democrats or Republicans. They tend to hit brick reality in short order. And that’s not altogether a bad thing.
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 11:03 am:
–… we all know a combination of cuts and a temporary tax increase is needed,–
If everyone’s on board with that among your conservative, libertarian and Tea Party friends, then what’s the problem with getting it done?
How many “conservative, libertarian, Tea Party” votes do you think you would get in the GA for a such a plan?
- 47th Ward - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 11:03 am:
===liberal newspaper talking points …===
Wait, we have a newspaper? Which one? Where can I get a copy?
- VanillaMan - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 11:06 am:
Get over the Tea Parties and start joining thm. A lot of pundits who knocked them are doing that now.
Governor Christy is demonstrating how to tell the ugly truth to voters and his popularity has gone up 20 percent doing so.
Voters are not into fear. They are not any different from you. In 2010 voters know that something has gone terribly wrong. If you want to keep selling the old 2008 elixir in this age go ahead and lose 2010.
Stop knocking those selling the new stuff.
Dugan told the truth without doing it well. It is not the truth voters are not accepting. They do not want to hear the ugly truth from an incumbent who was elected to fix the problems. Do you want to hear from your mechanic that he did not fix you car and now the costs of fixing it are even higher?
When voters hear an incumbent telling them bad news, they are also understanding that the incumbent FAILED. In 2010 voters do not have faith in their governments enough to give incumbents enough trust to give them a second chance.
If the ugly truth is coming from a challenger, voters are more accepting because that is the normal role of any challenger. Voters know challengers are not responsible because they are not in office. Only blinded partisans judge challengers by tying a party to them. In 2010 voters are looking for NEW PEOPLE.
Stop insulting Tea Partiers. Just because you are comfortable and have no concerns does not mean that those who do are acting like idiots. Remember that when a ship sinks the third class passengers are yelling out in fear first.while you are having cocktails and complaing to your servants about their yelling.
Open your eyes. There are real reasons to yell!
- Rich Miller - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 11:13 am:
===Remember that when a ship sinks the third class passengers are yelling out in fear first.while you are having cocktails and complaing to your servants about their yelling.===
LOL. Wrong. Although they may be complaining about the yelling while having cocktails on the helicopters whisking them away to safety.
- WRMNpolitics - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 11:17 am:
Brady believes across the board spending cuts without tax increases will solve the problem while Quinn thinks tax increases without spending cuts is the solution. Both men are delusional in their outlook. One doesn’t have to be a Mensa member to figure out that wide ranging changes in policy needs to be made to right the Illinois ship of State. Everyone will have to have some skin in the game, and this will mean taxing retirement income, pension reform, school funding reform and many others. Unfortunately, the candidate that tells the truth about these issues will have a hard time being heard over the noise made by the establishment fairy dust and manure salesmen.
- Piling on - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 11:39 am:
This is where Quinn blew it, twice. His first budget should have been doomsday. He could have unveiled it with a tear running down his cheek to show how it was contrary to everything he believes in. Instead, he led with the tax hike. D’oh! Earth to Quinn: the tax hike is the last option, not the first option.
And he could/should have done it this year, too. We’ve got no choice but to cut the crap out of … prison, higher ed, school funding, and everything else that members and communities from both parties support.
If he could have stuck to his guns, he might have been able to build a coalition to get the tax increase he wanted and specify some cuts, rather than this, it’s anyone’s guess as to what’s being cut/restored/cut again by day.
Instead, he campaigns against the very fake cuts he first proposed and has rendered himself unbelievable and limp as both a governor and a candidate.
He is, after all, Pat Quinn and there might be a reason he was out of any real elected office for so long.
- Retired Non-Union Guy - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 11:45 am:
WRNM … which is why Brady will win the election, because he at least gets the “cut” part of it, which is what the voters want. If it doesn’t hurt and you don’t see political hacks losing State jobs, they haven’t cut enough.
I expect Brady will also come around to a tax increase which could be sold if it is (a) really, truly temporary with a fixed sunset and (b) dedicated to eliminating the deficit and, maybe, shoring up the pension funds. That would improve Illinois’ business climate, just paying the State’s bills on time. It would also immediately improve the bond ratings. But if he tries to make it a permanent increase, I don’t think it can be sold to the public.
The other tax that could be sold would be a income tax increase in exchange for an equal property tax decrease … but again, only if there is a permanent prohibition on later raising the property taxes. But this isn’t a real solution, just a shifting since the new money would have to go to pay the schools the money lost from the property tax. But it would be a winner from a “feel good” standpoint with homeowners, especially seniors being taxed out of their houses.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 11:48 am:
The $13 Billion dollar deficit figure popped up in February 2010. It is now September. Is it still $13 Billion? Has it increased? Has it decreased?
Revenues have decreased substantially this year. Quinn is (allegedly) making severe cuts in services to prevent the deficit from growing and making it decrease.
The legislature dropped the budgetary hot potato right on Quinn’s lap. I’m no Quinn fan, and I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes, but . . .
. . . what is the current deficit number?
You know, the REAL one?
- Dan Bureaucrat - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 11:50 am:
I am ashamed of the House Republicans for this Lisa Dugan ad.
They have been claiming for years that the budget crisis is not their fault. They just lost any rights to that argument. Here, they show not only that they have no grasp of the budget problem, but that they think it is okay to slander someone who does. They claim she says the OPPOSITE of what she said. What disgusting behavior, especially in the face of a crisis such as this. I am deeply embarrassed for Tom Cross and all of them.
I can’t believe how few people in the House have the guts to even talk about the catastrophe facing Illinois. I respect Lisa Dugan for doing it.
- Retired Non-Union Guy - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 11:56 am:
47th street … we still have something with black ink on white paper that shows up on the doorstep every morning. They call themselves newspapers although the only one still mostly adhering to true objective journalist standards is the London Times. Even the NYT has taken to slanting stories instead of reporting them by inserting prejudicial adjectives into their news stories … and most the others don’t even try to hide their bias. What ever happened to “Just the Facts, Madam”?
- Retired Non-Union Guy - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:02 pm:
“How many “conservative, libertarian, Tea Party” votes do you think you would get in the GA for a such a plan?”
Not many because no one has the guts to do what needs to be done. This year the Dems didn’t need the GOP votes and they didn’t have the guts to do it either. I’ll give you the fact that in the recent past nobody trusted Rod to not rip it off, but they had the opportunity to do what was right after Quinn took over … they preferred to play it safe instead.
- Retired Non-Union Guy - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:05 pm:
In fact, if my memory is correct, the major tax reforms / increases the past half century have only occurred with GOP leadership. Dems have no trouble spending tax money in this State, they just have a problem raising it.
- Piling on - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:07 pm:
Retired non-union guy,
Would HB 174 (income tax increase, sales tax expansion, maximizing fed stimulus and match and 2.5 to 3 billion in cuts) be playing it safe?
That did pass the senate last year, but when no where in the House.
- Piling on - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:07 pm:
and when’s Dugan changing her name to Karen Silkwood?
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:09 pm:
VMan, there may be reasons to yell, but at some point you put on the big boy pants, suck it up and get to work.
Voters aren’t into fear? Then there are many, many political consultants selling their candidates a bill of goods.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:10 pm:
===What ever happened to “Just the Facts, Madam”?===
The truth has a well-known liberal bias.
- Dan Bureaucrat - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:10 pm:
Piling It On @ 11:39am has it exactly right about Quinn. That seems to be the way he maneuvers everything, so that he defeats his own principles AND makes the most people mad.
- ZC - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:11 pm:
VanillaMan,
> Governor Christy is demonstrating how to tell the ugly truth to voters and his popularity has gone up 20 percent doing so.
You have a point.
I think we should follow closely in Governor Christie and NJ’s footsteps. We should start by creating a progressive state income tax, with a top marginal rate of 9%, and then yes, let’s talk about cutting it down a bit.
- steve schnorf - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:14 pm:
A couple of thoughts, and they are related. One, no one lays out a detailed plan to balance the budget because of (if honest) how brutal it would be, whether cuts, tax increases, or both. Too many of the cutters want to believe you don’t need a tax increase, and too many tax increasers seem to want to hold every dollar of spending sacrosanct.
Second, I’ve believed for a 2 or 3 years now that the problem could be the solution. I believe if a Governor introduced a truly balanced budget, whether thru tax increases or cuts, and the 4 leaders told their members, this is it. You vote for this or you vote for a compromise we all agree on, members would be begging their leaders for a chance to vote for a compromise.
That’s just me speculating, though.
- Ghost - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:15 pm:
The Clinton/Dem wave was pushed along mightly by that whole no taxes pledge from Bush.
Seems like dangerous ground for the GOP to weep themselves in on a no tax pledge; they may just be setting themselves up to be ousted in mass themselves.
- steve schnorf - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:23 pm:
Oh, by the way, neither 174 nor 750 solves the problem now. It has been allowed to get too big for those, So, one of those PLUS substantial cuts, would be needed….
- Jim - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:39 pm:
Tax elimination is fine but somehow budgets have to be balanced. Has Gov. Christie (NJ) kep services going? If we learn anything from the city and county budgets is that ignoring it doesn’t improve it. Daley has scraped every lease clean while not cutting headcount, increasing taxes and cutting spending and will leave the next mayor an $800M budget hole, great legacy mayor. And the state legislature totally walked from their duties and left Quinn to borrow so we have to pay an additional couple hundred million dollars in interest this year, enough to fund programs. So Madigan, Quinn, Daley, a pox on all your houses!
- bored now - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:42 pm:
i’m with 47th ward. if someone can just point me to the “liberal media” in illinois, i’d appreciate it. been here ten years and haven’t seen hide nor hair of it…
- VanillaMan - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 12:57 pm:
When do youstop yelling?
November 3rd. If within two years there are still these concerns among our citizenry then expect the yelling to continue again.
Sorry if they are disturbing your sleep. That is democracy ya know!
Voters are out to punish and incumbents in swing districts are going to the gallows soon. Party switch. Again. You can handle it. It will switch again.
In 2012 I would expect a purge of the GOP if things do not improve.Bill and Pat Brady got one term.
- WRMNpolitics - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 1:05 pm:
The concept of “temporary” tax increases to balance the budget and lower the massive deficit is a non- starter. The Illinois tax code was created when the largest source of income was from the sale of products and manufacturing, this is no longer the case as our economy is service based. This alone will necessitate a shift to taxing the purchase of services. Additionally, Illinois needs to expand its tax base. Waiting for business expansion or the economy to improve is not the answer. Closing of tax provisions that are outdated, as well as beginning to tax income that has previously been exempt from tax, such as retirement income, will more equitably spread that tax burden. As to the question of cuts, removing headcount in state government will only provide a miniscule benefit. it will take removal of redundant services, ending popular but ineffective programs, and limiting spending to core services of government. All of these are quite painful measures and take a governor and legislature that is more interested in having a functioning state than their own election.
- American Made - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 1:11 pm:
I do not believe that Quinn has ever said we don’t have to cut spending. I know for a fact that he started his administration with a fact finding commission Tax Payer Action Board. This was a bi-partisan commission and many of the suggestions are being implemented.
Just putting the leases of office space alone has cut $20 Million a year.
There is no quick fix or silver bullet to reduce a $13 Billion deficit.
This will take multiple years and many different tactics to bring us out of this economic disaster.
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 1:46 pm:
VMan, only petulant children keep yelling. Grownups suck it up and face the truth.
I’ve got no problem with democracy, brother. But democracy works best when reason trumps emotion, or passion as they used to say.
Glad to see you’re already planning your 2012 “purge.” Can’t get started soon enough.
- Small Town Liberal - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 2:46 pm:
- which is why Brady will win the election, because he at least gets the “cut” part of it -
What a joke. All Brady says is 10% across the board cuts. He doesn’t get anything. Quinn has actually made targeted cuts in an attempt to find real solutions. As has been said before, I didn’t see any of you anti-government types commending Quinn for any of that.
- Retired Non-Union Guy - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 2:47 pm:
WRMN … I know personnel cuts won’t make a hill of beans difference in the overall budget, but the symbolism of politically connected know-nothings getting axed would go a long ways with the voters. I used to get so tired of having to re-educate / re-train some political clown appointed over me every couple of years. I understand the problem is even worse now where they just parachute in to rubber stamp their resume and then move on in six months to a year to another position they aren’t qualified for.
- Retired Non-Union Guy - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 2:51 pm:
Piling on - yes, the Senate passed one … but it doesn’t matter if you either can’t get the votes in the House or you already know the House is going to kill it … they could of done it and didn’t
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 3:17 pm:
Don’t kid yourself. After the election, there are going to be loads of layoffs. Trot out any stat you want, but come January, many will be let go and fewer will be hired.
$13 billion is a big number. And no election of for two years,
- VanillaMan - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 3:18 pm:
You are mistaking citizens feeling on the edge to petulant children? Have you read Rich’s column today? Would you tell the unemployed the foreclosed the new colege grad the overtaxed citizen to stop yelling as they go into bankruptsies?
Of course you wouldn’t. Have a heart..
The yelling will stop November 3rd if it appears that our governments got the message that they are failures on notice. The new folks have two years or they are gone.If they continue spending as they have the yelling will begin.
It is kind of like a guy with a knife in his back that the incumbents keep twisting. They claim that the pain will stop but only put in ear plugs when the guy starts yelling in pain again. We all get it that the incumbents think their methods could cure but why can’t they show respect to those demanding they stp? He isn’t getting better. The incumbent’s cure is worse than the desease.
Brady has two years to show an improvement.voters think is fair. If we are worse off or not as well off as we like then he and his people are gone.This is a huge disaster. He can easily be a one term governor under current projections.
Until November 2nd there will be yelling and fighting and lies and promises. Heads will roll. Sacred cows will become hamburger.It is better than if the angry masses started shooting. Right?
- conservative - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 3:47 pm:
Why is it that a tax increase is “The Truth”? They said the same thing in New Jersey and that all they could do was raise taxes. Christy seems to be living up to his promise of no new taxes and is on the way to a balanced budget.
why is it so hard to understand that the State government can’t even come up with a list of all it’s departments and offices. It can’t give us a list of who is getting health care or even if they live in Illinois. Why should the tax payers continue to pay for a public education system that up in my area pays more than half it’s teachers over $100,000 with raises every year when my house is now worth 35% less than it was 3 years ago? To ask that Teachers take a cut is fringe? It is a far right point of view? Why should they have free health care for life? What about stopping pensions for state reps and state senators? Why should some one like Judy Barr lose her Treasurers job and collect more in pensions than she made as Treasurer? Now if she wins she will have 4 pensions? Come on! Times change, people are better informed now and the old style politics are dead.
This wave that is coming is bigger than you guys can know; it will force the changes I listed above.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 3:48 pm:
===Why is it that a tax increase is “The Truth”? ===
Obviously, you cannot read.
- JBIlla - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 3:55 pm:
Rich, thanks for dedicating the day to budget. You truly are outside the mainstream. I don’t think the Red Eye, et all believe we have the intestinal fortitude to deal with this.
What I would do?
After watching Dylan Ratigan today, I’d ask Deepak Chopra.
- jojo1423 - Friday, Sep 24, 10 @ 4:20 pm:
I agree with Bureaucrat Dan. Shame on the House Republicans for misusing Dugan’s words. But I suppose that’s par for the course in campaign ads. Somehow this one feels worse. Kudos for Dugan for respecting her constituents enough to really explain what the situation means for her district.
- wordslinger - Saturday, Sep 25, 10 @ 7:42 am:
–It is better than if the angry masses started shooting. Right? –
Who are you talking about? By previous posts, you seem to be speaking for Tea Partiers. Who are these angry masses and why would they shoot anyone?
Talk it over with your other patriots at the next union-mandated coffee break at your state job. Viva La Revolucion.