Sunday lengthened toward midnight with two seemingly unrelated questions dominating the news: Would Illinois lawmakers admit that they haven’t yet done the hard work that needs to precede any income-tax increase? And would some dramatic surprise keep General Motors from filing for bankruptcy Monday morning?
The sorry fact is that both of these stories involve institutions that haven’t been willing to live within their means.
In Springfield, Democratic leaders have been pushing tax increases this spring in the midst of an economic recession, even though they’ve made no substantive progress on curbing the runaway costs — particularly in pensions and health care — that have put the state in this terrible position.
That’s irresponsible. The leaders will tell you that state revenues are down this year, so they need more of your dollars. They probably won’t boast that, for two decades, they’ve increased state spending at double the rate of inflation. Had they not overcommitted Illinois taxpayers to so many spending streams, had they created a serious rainy-day fund, they wouldn’t face the crisis that their profligacy has invited.
Meanwhile, General Motors is sliding into bankruptcy in large part because its management failed to curb its vast legacy costs — particularly in pensions and health care. The workforce was slow to see that GM couldn’t afford its gold-plated labor contracts and also thrive as a business.
Yes, Illinois has much in common with this once-great, now-failing car company.
The result for GM: Its meltdown has chased customers away. The result for Illinois: Raising taxes without first reining in costs will chase jobs and businesses away.
When a House measure to boost the income-tax rate by 50 percent fell 18 votes short Sunday evening, we hoped that some Democratic lawmakers have awakened to what for voters is obvious:
The General Assembly’s refusal to take such elemental steps as reforming pension calculations for new employees, or moving Medicaid recipients to more efficient managed care, is tantamount to legislators admitting: We know you citizens want us to spend smarter — but the employees unions and the interest groups just won’t let us.
We’d also like to think lawmakers have become sensitive to another of their failures: Sunday’s Tribune detailed all the ethical reforms that have been diluted, delayed or left for dead. In recent days, so many legislators have been so boastful of their inadequate reform accomplishments that they must be thinking the truth: Their reluctance to surrender political power doesn’t fool Illinois voters.
Lawmakers, don’t blame your failures on Rod Blagojevich. He’s gone. Citizens are paying your salaries, not his. And for what?
