Illinois State Comptroller Dan Hynes has released his final report on fiscal year 2010, and it is horrible. The unpaid bills are $4,712,000,000, almost $2 billion higher than a year ago. In June it was taking 153 working days to pay vouchers, which is over six months.
As The New York Times reported earlier this month:
"For the last few years, California stood more or less unchallenged as a symbol of the fiscal collapse of states during the recession. Now Illinois has shouldered to the fore, as its dysfunctional political class refuses to pay the state’s bills and refuses to take the painful steps — cuts and tax increases — to close a deficit of at least $12 billion, equal to nearly half the state’s budget.
Then there is the spectacularly mismanaged pension system, which is at least 50 percent underfunded and, analysts warn, could push Illinois into insolvency if the economy fails to pick up. …
‘Their pension is the most underfunded in the nation,’ said Karen S. Krop, a senior director at Fitch Ratings. ‘They have not made significant cuts or raised revenues. There’s no state out there like this. They can’t grow their way out of this.’"
The New York Times quoted Dan Hynes as saying, "Only the most delusional people think you can solve this without raising taxes."
I understand where Mr. Hynes is coming from, and at one point I was willing to support a temporary increase in the state income tax to pay off our debts. I even wondered if the income tax might not be able to get back down to 3%.
But that was then. Since then I have seen our legislators refuse to make even a symbolic cutback by giving up their right to award free scholarships to state universities to friends and party loyalists and contributors to ward and township political organizations. It would have been a small thing, but even with our financial and ethical crises, they wouldn’t do it.
Then last week the Chicago Tribune quoted this Associated Press report from July 6:
"Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has handed out raises — some of more than 20 percent — to his staff while proclaiming a message of 'shared sacrifice' and planning spending cuts of $1.4 billion because the state is awash in debt."
The Tribune continued:
"The AP story, drawn from records obtained under the state's Freedom of Information Act, said that in the past 15 months, Quinn has given 43 salary increases averaging 11.4 percent to 35 staffers. The governor's response, as quoted by the news service? ‘We have fewer people doing more, and that's what the public wants.’
Fewer people doing more? The AP said payroll records list 124 employees in the governor's office and affiliated budget office in May, compared to 125 in July 2009 and 122 in February 2009, just after Quinn took office."
The New York Times quoted Democratic Representative Barbara Flynn Currie, part of the House Democratic leadership, as saying, "In the long run, we’ll muddle our way through."*
I really would be willing to pay more taxes to pay off our debts. I am appalled and embarrassed by Illinois’ financial position. But I can’t give money to these people because I can’t trust them to use the money to pay off our debts. They will take the money, pay a small part of the debt and then just continue like they have for the last eight years and more. I feel sorry for all those people who are owed money by the state, but until we get more people we can trust in Springfield, I can’t justify giving Springfield more money.
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* For more on Representative Currie, see this post.
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