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Do you believe in magic?

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* Longterm? Yes. Short-term? No…

While Gov. Pat Quinn has accused his opponent of telling voters fairy tales about balancing the budget, he provided only a hazy picture Monday of how he would close the $13 billion deficit and then move Illinois forward.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Quinn said he would solve the state’s budget crisis by spending more on education. He hopes “investing in people” will help the Illinois economy grow and fill the budget hole when coupled with unspecified spending cuts and the possibility of more federal aid.

The governor is apparently still hoping for lots of magical federal faerie dust, which will duly be sprinkled throughout the land. Huzzahs for faerie dust! Huzzah!…

* That faerie dust will sure come in handy to pay off the state’s backlog of bills, which is now $6.4 billion. But Quinn better find some soon, because he’s promised to pay all those bills off by the end of December…

Governor Pat Quinn “is committed to paying all” bills from 2010, which ended in June, by the end of this year, said Kelly Kraft, a spokeswoman. Quinn, a Democrat, is working to reduce the deficit and will need the help of the Legislature, she said.

The Legislature? We don’t need no stinking Legislature when we have faeries! Seriously. Magic is so much more fun…

* Anyway, back to the budget, which sucks, of course. The Commission on Goverment Forecasting and Accountability’s September report is out. Not good…

Excluding short-term borrowing, base general funds revenues are up $266 million through September. However, absent $263 million from first quarter As shown on page 7, through the first quarter of FY 2011, overall base revenues are up $266 million. When the falloff in federal sources is excluded, the gain increases to $397 million. However, as mentioned earlier, much of the year to date increase is attributed to interfund borrowing, which throughout the first quarter totaled $263 million. Absent that action, receipts through the first three months of the fiscal year have been expectedly lackluster.

“Expectedly lackluster.” Great. But, wait a moment. According to this video, faeries are real…

So, maybe all hope is not lost. Yes, indeedy. All we have to do is just find out where they taped that faerie, go catch it and immediately hand it over to the Office of Management and Budget. Problem solved.

* Come to think of it, maybe Bill Brady already caught that faerie…

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady told supporters in Galesburg Monday that if elected he would cut taxes and close the state’s deficit in his first year in office. […]

Asked if that was a realistic statement, Brady responded, “absolutely.”

In his first year, he says? Huzzahs!!! Huzzahs!!! We are saved!!! All hail Bill Brady, the new King of the faeries….

* And let us all pray for a long and healthy life for our new king…

Plummer said his experience in hiring and managing people at the family lumber business has prepared him to run Illinois, the country’s fifth-largest economy. Business is “a background where you have to perform or you don’t make it,” he said.

Fear not. The young Plummer is guided by the lumber faerie, the fairest faerie of them all…

Feel better? I sure do.

…Adding… The tax amnesty faerie is not being kind…

A tax amnesty program designed to bring an influx of cash into the state’s floundering bank account could bring in less revenue than advertised.

In a report issued Monday, Comptroller Dan Hynes said the possible shortfall could further jeopardize the state’s already shaky ability to pay down its old bills by the end of this calendar year.

“This would create a scenario in which unsatisfied payees could be forced to seek legal and judicial remedies to obtain payments in amounts unprecedented in the state’s history,” he noted.

Curiously enough, there are no videos for “tax amnesty faerie” on YouTube.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 10:57 am

Comments

I’m not sure, and correct me if I’m wrong…but you’ve been in Springfield too long? It’s not good for your mind, man. =P

Comment by Liandro Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 11:06 am
Methinks you need to lay off the Fairie dust and eat more of the magic beans.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 11:10 am
Bill Brady is a relatively common name, which may explain the contradictory Bill Brady budget and economic comments out there.

–Bill Brady I was in the GA 17 years and voted on budgets, presumably with some idea of what’s in them.

–Bill Brady II has no idea what’s in the state budget, how it is being spent, who is owed money and how much, and will need a “forensic audit” to sort it all out.

– Bill Brady III is confident enough in the information he has to state that he can cut taxes and close the deficit in one year.

– Bill Brady IV is against more borrowing.

– Bill Brady V wants to float a $50 billion pension obligation bond.

– Bill Brady VI is a businessman who knows how to “grow” jobs in a lousy economy.

– Bill Brady VII is a businessman who shed jobs in a lousy economy.

I’m sure there will be more and different Bill Brady sightings in the coming weeks.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 11:11 am
And here I thought that Sen. Brady was expecting the Budget Fairy to leave about $14 billion under his pillow to balance before he wakes up on Inauguration Day!

Comment by fedup dem Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 11:14 am
Quinn is taking a page out of the George Costanza with his “money for people” strategy.

Comment by Bakersfield Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 11:18 am
Both candidates/parties are settling into the old capitalist cure all for pain — growth of capital, growth of revenue. Quinn is gonna make the populace smarter and more productive. Brady is gonna cut taxes/revenues to grow the economy and increase revenues. Two sides of the same coin. Something tells me this growth paradigm is about dead in the water and may not be see much of a life after death. But we will keep up with the shell game for what other faith (in growth) do we have to pull our butts out of the fire?

Comment by vole Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 11:19 am
oops I did it again would be the appropriate song to describe what happens if plummer is elected lt governor. the chicago mayoral election is next year and yet there has been zippo coverage in chicago about plummer wondering if with all the problems we face as a state what would happen if the guy gets elected and brady falls for whatever reason.

it’s not as sexy as what rahm had for lunch, how hurt gery feels the daley’s aren’t giving him love, but its real. I dont know if there will be a lt gov debate, but if we have one, it could lose brady some points.

Comment by shore Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 11:25 am
Don’t forget Danny Ferry of Duke basketball fame!!!!

Comment by Ozzie Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 11:28 am
wordslinger - good one.

Also don’t forget the Bill Brady who wants to cut 10% across the board vs. the Bill Brady who said he’s not the one who said that, but then when confronted with videos where it looked like he was the Bill Brady who said that, that Bill Brady said maybe he was that Bill Brady afterall, but still isn’t sure.

Comment by just sayin' Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 11:38 am
Tinker Bell will not be happy to have been ignored.

Comment by Cal Skinner Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 11:50 am
Rich me boy, methinks ye have been partaking a wee bit of the nectar of the barley. lol
However if somebody doesn’t start taking these people to task for avoiding the question, “What are you going to do NOW to turn the Illinois deficit problem around?” I think I will join ye in several wee sips.

All of the candidates are proposing things that may help the economy improve in the next couple of decades but No One, except for maybe Rich Whitney, is proposing anything concrete that will start fixing the fiscal mess right now.

This mess will not get fixed until leaders are ready to do things like stop government subsidies to anyone who is an ILLEGAL Immigrant, or tighten the qualifications for State Aid, I am tired of seeing folks who can afford to dress and eat better than I can pull out a LINK card to pay for their groceries. How about putting the prisoners into a dental and medical plan like the rest of us. If they can come up with the co-pay they get their teeth fixed, if they can’t then they are like everyone else and they suffer. Eliminate the state planes for everyone. If you are a legislator or constitutional officer, and you claim you work 365 days a year for your position to calculate furlough penalties then it should be illegal for you to have any type of secondary employment until your term is up, otherwise you are using state time for private enterprise. We also have to stop subsidizing business for actions they were going to take anyway. For example the $2 million that was given to the commercial fishing company to expand their operation to sell asian carp to China when they already had a contract to do just that before they got the $2 million. Take agency administrative headcount back to the levels of the late 70’s and early 80’s. When I started with this agency we had more employees in 1979 than we do now. There were two ladies in our HR department. We had a director and an assistant with one clerical. We currently have at least 10 people in our HR department. we have a director, two deputy director’s and two assistant director positions, I don’t even know how many staff each of them have. Eliminate CMS and give the duties of each agency back to the agencies. I don’t know what those steps would save but it has to be a good start.

Comment by Irish Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 12:03 pm
Wordslinger, fed up, and just sayin’:
Serious question: do you think that Quinn’s proposed budget solution is complete? Is it good for the state long-term?

I ask, because from where I sit while I agree that Brady does not have a real, viable plan, I honestly cannot see how Quinn’s is, either.

As an independent, I find knee-jerk partisanship to be a useless distraction.

So, I am genuinely curious, is there more than just tax increases… sorry, “education surcharges”… that makes Quinn’s math work?

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 12:10 pm
==In his first year, he says? Huzzahs!!! Huzzahs!!!==

Where is the follow-up to this? Did he mean the first fiscal year or the first 12 months he is in office? Do we have to wait until next January, or will the new heaven and earth be in place July 1? We demand answers, and the MSM isn’t forcing the candidates to produce them!

Comment by Pat Robertson Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 12:10 pm
It is posts like this that make me remember what a special blog site this is. It’s truly magical.

Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 12:12 pm
I would, but it’s like trying to tell a stranger ’bout rock n’ roll.

Pen and Teller couldn’t fix the Illinois budget without a tax increase and spending cap. Brady doesn’t even match up to Marshall Brodien/Wizzo.

Comment by Newsclown Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 12:23 pm
Irish,

Don’t you realize that you must never cut or eliminate ANY government program no matter is it is good or ludicrous? And, it is accepted wisdom that every new idea be funded, no matter what it is. Certainly, you also realize that taxes must be continuously raised because of the feedback loop caused by past and future spending. It is inappropriate to even consider discussing all of this for the harm you will cause to children, the poor, the disabled, the elderly, policemen, firemen, and the teachers.

Certainly you don’t question the status quo, do you, DO YOU?

Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 12:24 pm
–Wordslinger, fed up, and just sayin’:
Serious question: do you think that Quinn’s proposed budget solution is complete? Is it good for the state long-term–

No, and I don’t know. I give Quinn some points for being as consistent as his personality allows in advocating some combination of cuts and higher taxes to begin to address the deficit. He proposed a more ambitious plan last session that the GA summarily tossed.

By the way, it’s not “knee-jerk” anything to point out ridiculous and contradictory statements. Hope that wasn’t distracting.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 12:29 pm
Dust and all, I have to admit, there are days I wish I didn’t have a basic understanding of how bad things are financially and budget wise in this state….

Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 1:20 pm
Cinnci - Yeah I do, but I kinda always have. I don’t know if it is my nature or if some of it has to do with the fact that I was a child of the 60’s. I just have a very hard time trying to understand the illogical and irrational. My Mom had a favorite phrase, “Just get down to the brass tacks.” and I guess that is what I would like to see us do that in our budget. We need someone to look at the budget, programs, and headcount positions, and get down to the brass tacks. Instead of going at this with a broad brush and saying everyone deserves a pay cut or every agency should give up 10% or education should be cut or funded by X amount, it should be looked at as, is this particular position necesary, does this program meet it’s goal compared to what it costs to run? Is it financially feasible? That’s why I agree with Rich Whitney in the budget needs to be looked at line by line, no program is exempted. No more free rides for anybody! Then raise income taxes in a graduated way to fund education FAIRLY across the board. Include a definite threshold of stability to reach when property tax relief is to become law. Stipulate that no new spending is to occur until that threshold is reached and that relief is given. See even I have been dipping into the Faerie dust.

Comment by Irish Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 1:48 pm
I’ve always been fond of the “blow it all up and start over” plan, meaning eliminate everything and then decide what you need, but that will never happen.

Comment by Crow04 Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 2:31 pm
C, I think your continued use of that straw man is beneath you and your talents. Do you really know ANY credible voices still saying nothing should be cut from this budget?

Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 3:19 pm
steve schnorf,

I think my point is more along the lines that if you even have a discussion about cutting spending, the strawman of “the children,: or “the policeman” is used against you. I am trying to knock down the strawman.

Whenever we have a discussion about spending cuts, people will say “exactly what programs would you cut,” and when you answer, they give you the old heave ho about the pain of the cut.

I think the discussions should move toward, “What would you keep?” It might be a shorter list…

Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 3:33 pm
C, thanks for the answer, but isn’t part of the problem the cutters face is that it does affect the “children” et al; I think you just have to face that head on. If there were simple painless cuts to be made, most people would support making them.

If more people would be more open about the fact that these won’t be painless cuts (for the most part), then the dialogue could be more realistic. Cuts need to be made. There may be certain things that state government just won’t do any more.

At some point if you can’t live with more cuts you are now in favor of a tax increase, right? Isn’t that about what all this boils down to? I understand and accept that it is generally not smart politics to outline your specific cuts before an election, but to let stand the myth that whatever they are they will be simple, sanitary mathematical subtractions is disingenuous isn’t it?

Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Oct 5, 10 @ 3:57 pm