If we’ve learned anything in Illinois in the last couple of years, it’s that you have to give a little to get a little. It’s a lesson we wish our neighbor to the north, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, would take to heart in crafting a long-term solution to our nation’s budget crisis.
Here in Illinois, Democrats in the state Legislature earlier this year finally passed a badly needed income tax increase, the first step toward solving the state’s own budget crisis. Republicans fought the increase, but they’d be the first to admit that its passage at least took that issue off the table for a while, making it tougher for Democrats to live in denial about the need to take the second big step — cut state spending significantly.
When state Senate GOP leader Christine Radogno then, just two weeks ago, laid out a detailed proposal for major spending cuts, she knew that responsible Democrats, having gotten their tax increase, no longer had much choice but to listen, engage and dig into the nitty-gritty of where to cut.
In Washington, however, Ryan, the new chairman of the House Budget Committee, rolled out a GOP vision of budget reform on Tuesday that does nothing to balance the competing approaches of Republicans and Democrats. Instead, he has offered up an ideologically driven document that calls for deep cuts in spending on programs for the elderly, the disabled and the middle class, but bends over backward to protect tax breaks for the rich and profligate Pentagon spending.
more at
http://www.suntimes.com/opinions/4692917-474/editorial-illinois-could-teach-ryan-how-to-fix-a-budget.htmlI'm glad I'm from IL of course we had a very close gubernatorial race where we almost got a tea bag governor.
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