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The Eeyore editorial board strikes again

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* Tribune editorial board…

You may have heard that Illinois is among the top 10 states nationally in business startups for 2021, with nearly 200,000 businesses formed last year. That’s up from 170,400 in 2020. And 2020 was also a very good year.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker took credit for this positive development, declaring the state to be “back, and open for business” and touting some of his pet economic projects.

The governor’s triumphant recent statement, which claimed Illinois was sixth in the nation when it came to the number of 2021 startups, omitted any reference to the flip side of business startups: business failures. Unfortunately, a lot of Illinois businesses went bust in the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, though we don’t have a figure comparable to the U.S. Census count of “business applications” that Pritzker equated with startups (which is only a rough approximation, at that).

The governor also overlooked how severe layoffs early in the pandemic drove some of the suddenly unemployed to launch their own ventures out of desperation, and how the anemic growth of the labor force continues to put a drag on business creation nationwide.

And did he mention that business startups appear to be slowing, so that 2022 is likely to be below the 2021 peak? Or that business failures probably will run high in 2022, partly because new ventures often fail in their first year or two?

Always, always, always look on the dark side when it comes to Illinois. They just can’t help themselves. “If it is a good morning, which I doubt.”

…Adding… OneMan with an all-time classic in comments…

Glad to see Debbie Downer is writing for the Trib.

The Trib Editorial Board Writes For Other Parts Of The Paper

Weddings:
The bride and groom were all smiles despite the fact half of all marriages end in divorce.

High School Sports:
The coach said he was happy to win the state championship, he didn’t mention how this might be the peak of some of his players’ lives and it might be all downhill from here.

Business:
When mentioning how they were pleased with store-to-store performance increases over the year McDonald’s executives didn’t address the fact that eventually, every single one of their current customers will die.

* I mean, even that grumpus David Greising is starting to come around a bit, albeit while avoiding any direct credit for the governor because maybe Griffin…

Mendoza introduced the concept before the pandemic hit in 2020. She’s bringing it back because the economy is recovering and the strong outlook for state revenues makes the idea of mandatory payments toward pensions and the rainy-day fund more politically palatable.

Pritzker’s budget proposal, delivered earlier this month, could set the stage for what Mendoza is trying to accomplish. He has earmarked $500 million between now and the end of the next fiscal year toward one-time pension payments and roughly $900 million toward rebuilding the rainy-day fund, formally known as the budget stabilization fund.

“You can see where it’s not traditionally in the wheelhouse to put $800 million or $500 million or $200 million into the rainy-day fund because there are so many interests that want that money right now,” Mendoza said. “But saying we’re going to put that money to protect ourselves from a fiscal downturn is a very disciplined approach.”

Such a law would mark a sharp change for one of the most profligate states in the union. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has celebrated the state’s credit upgrade last year, its first in two decades, with reduced taxes on gas and groceries and a property tax rebate: $1 billion in all. He calls the package the Family Relief Plan, which has a nice election-year ring to it.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 11:29 am

Comments

==And did he mention that business startups appear to be slowing, so that 2022 is likely to be below the 2021 peak?==

1) Shouldn’t we wait to see what the data is?

2) Isn’t there an upper limit on how many people will ever start a new business, anyway? And as we approach that limit, wouldn’t you expect startups to slow down?

Comment by Arsenal Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 11:34 am
After decades as a subscriber I just cancelled. Zorn, now Huppke leaving just about eliminates all the counter-balance.

Comment by DEE Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 11:35 am
I’m currently subscribed for 6 months for $1. When that’s up, I’ll cancel until the next time they’re offering 6 months for $1. They are telling me what their paper is worth, and I believe them.

Comment by Roadrager Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 11:40 am
Forgive me for asking, but what exactly does the Comptroller have to do with a credit upgrade? And this person writes “..could set the stage for what Mendoza is trying to accomplish”. What does that actually mean?

Comment by Predecessorage Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 11:43 am
==And did he mention that business startups appear to be slowing, so that 2022 is likely to be below the 2021 peak?==

It’s barely the third week of February.

Glad to see Debbie Downer is writing for the trib.

The Trib Editorial Board Writes For Other Parts Of The Paper

Weddings.
The bride and groom were all smiles despite the fact half of all marriages end in divorce.

High School Sports
The coach said he was happy to win the state championship, he didn’t mention how this might be the peak of some of his players’ lives and it might be all downhill from here.

Business:
When mentioning how they were pleased with store-to-store performance increases over the year McDonald’s executives didn’t address the fact that eventually, every single one of their current customers will die.

Comment by OneMan Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 11:44 am
Businesses failed in every state. They’re so desperate.

Comment by Nick Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 11:45 am
One Man nailed it.

Comment by Langhorne Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 12:00 pm
== “drove some of the suddenly unemployed to launch their own ventures”==

I’d think this would be a good thing? People unemployed starting their own businesses?

Comment by low level Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 12:02 pm
- OneMan - wins.

I had this whole thing, but you can’t top that.

Subscribe for Pearson, Long, et al… the best… read the editorials like comedy fiction for Eeyores.

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 12:06 pm
Bravissimo OneMan

Comment by Norseman Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 12:31 pm
==I’d think this would be a good thing?==

I think it depends on the person, but the Trib’s general mindset would, you’d think, be in favor of it.

Comment by Arsenal Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 12:32 pm
Even if Eeoyre or not, at least the Trib still has an editorial board even if we disagree with them frequently. Unlike the SJ-R. They’ve basically cut letters to the editor and only run other Gannett editorials instead. Basically no editorial board which wouldn’t qualify to even be an Eeoyre left at the SJR.

Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 12:34 pm
OneMan obviously wins the thread.

But to sort of answer the question asked by @ Predecessorage above;

The comptroller handles when and how to pay the bills. Mendoza has been very active in managing bill payments into specific categories to maximize their positive impact to the state finances as a whole.

Think of it like having a lot of credit card debt, and prioritizing the highest interest payments to be paid first in order to minimize the amount of interest paid over time.

The debt is still there, but there are bad and good ways of managing it. Mendoza has been doing a very good job of managing it in a good way.

Quite frankly, she’s been very good in her position since she started.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 12:39 pm
“OneMan, you’ve won the entire Capital Fax blog” (banned punctuation marks)(crowd gives standing ovation).
It’s pretty bad being a cynical pessimist and being shocked to realize how bad the Trib’s attitude is.

Comment by thisjustinagain Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 12:45 pm
==It’s pretty bad being a cynical pessimist and being shocked to realize how bad the Trib’s attitude is.==

It’s funny, because this blog is hardly full of Pollyannas, but the Trib’s routine even grates on us.

Comment by Arsenal Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 12:47 pm
@Predecessorage Forgiven. TheInvisibleMan nailed it. Next to the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, the Comptroller is the state office the bond rating agencies communicate with most to gauge Illinois’ credit-worthiness. Read the last few dispatches from the rating agencies to see them complimenting Comptroller Mendoza’s office on its latest transparency initiatives and her targeted approach to paying down the bill backlog. She has been championing HB4118, which would automatically direct money into the state’s Rainy Day and Pension Stabilization funds when the backlog is below $3 billion. Governor Pritzker’s proposal to put nearly $900 million in the Rainy Day fund and pay $500 million more to pensions – lowering that liability by $1.8 billion – is a leap forward to what she’s trying to accomplish.

Comment by Abdon Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 12:48 pm
OneMan should be thankful Kim Foxx is state’s attorney otherwise he’d be prosecuted for that murder.

Comment by Moot the Case Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 1:03 pm
Doffing my cap to OneMan.

Also to the Trib ed board, which despite being under new management pays homage to its predecessors’ awfulness, yet regularly finds other innovative ways to offer half-baked takes.

If you had to cut a section of that paper no one would miss, it’s without a doubt the editorial board - a part-time skeleton crew that can’t, as the denizens of this board like to say, “keep up.”

Comment by Moe Berg Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 1:33 pm
==If you had to cut a section of that paper no one would miss==

All papers, probably. Editorial boards just torch papers’ credibility.

Comment by Arsenal Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 1:34 pm
Abdon should have added that GOMB is headed by a Mendoza IOC graduate.

Comment by Original Rambler Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 1:39 pm
Editorial boards exist to remind publishers why they keep (what remains of) the news side employed

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 1:45 pm
Will the last person leaving tell the Com Ed lobbyist to turn off the lights

Comment by Tom Clancy Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 3:10 pm
@Abdon–”Next to the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, the Comptroller is the state office the bond rating agencies communicate with most to gauge Illinois’ credit-worthiness.” That’s not what the business community heard on a recent Civic Fed call summarizing the state budget.

Comment by Civic Friday, Feb 18, 22 @ 3:21 pm
Nothing good will happen in Illinois, according to that editorial board, until every state pension is slashed to $15,000 and every pensioner has to work at McDonald’s until they’re 80.

Comment by Marty Funkhouser Monday, Feb 21, 22 @ 4:15 pm