The editors of the Chicago Tribune summarize Illinois Gov. Pritzker’s first budget address in four bullet points:
- He wants a graduated income tax. That will require amending the Illinois state constitution.
- He wants to generate revenue from taxing recreational cannabis. The states’ experiences have been that revenues from recreational cannabis are less than they expected, in some cases a lot less.
- He wants to increase the state’s tax base but he doesn’t know how.
- He wants to keep kicking the pension can down the road.
I feel confident in predicting that a graduated state income tax will not produce as much revenue as he thinks it will. As I said before the election, how many confirmed votes has Mr. Pritzker lined up for amending the constitution? If that’s his primary plan he should already have committed votes.
At some point one just doesn’t know what to say. Just pop the popcorn, grab a root beer and watch, with a shake of the head and perhaps a tear in the eye.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-21/illinois-hopes-fix-134-billion-pension-shortfall-issuing-more-debt
The idea of more borrowing infuriates me. Illinois’s population is declining and its debt is increasing, i.e. there are fewer people to service the debt. Under the circumstances borrowing is immoral. It’s saddling today’s children with increased debt.
I think Illinois is getting to the point where a Federal intervention and bailout is inevitable.