(H/T RISC-Y Business newsletter.)
Chicago Tribune Editorial
January 3, 2010
Evidently, it’s Stockholm syndrome, the tendency of some hostages to bond with their captors. How else to explain Illinoisans’ habit of re-electing lawmakers who chronically spend and borrow billions more than taxpayers supply? The result: huge debts and unfunded obligations that will make this an unaffordable state for employers and workers to build a future.
Politicians primarily loyal to public employees unions and other interest groups have Illinois on a path to become New Michigan or New California. Now they want you to pay them higher taxes. And maybe you should, but not before they make businesslike reforms to how they spend all the revenue they now collect.
Today’s newspaper includes the second of four editorials in a pre-primary series that we hope will catalyze The Revolution of 2010. Our goal is to elect officials who will force the tough decisions that many of today’s lawmakers dodge. One imperative: breaking the pattern of money mismanagement summed up by the editorial’s headline: “Splurge. Borrow. Repeat.”
The editorial continues at the Tribune.
