Last week we noted Congressman Paul Ryan’s “Roadmap for America’s Future” and suggested that it’s time for Illinois Republican leaders to draft a “Roadmap for Illinois’ Future.”
The mathematics is simple. You can’t spend more than you take in. In fact, you have to spend less than you take in so there’s something left over to service the debt.
The state should stop making payments on the state pensions immediately. As Bill Zettler has noted, state employees and state retirees never paid in what they needed to therefore it’s immoral to force taxpayers to make up the difference. An overhaul is overdue.
The public/government/taxpayer funded schools – K-12 and the university system – are much too expensive. In fact, they’re bloated beyond belief. So there’s plenty of trimming possible there.
And many trees have been cut down to make the paper to print the many possible reforms for the state’s Medicaid system. Illinoisans only lack courageous and honest political leaders to implement the changes.
Once you solve pensions, education, and Medicaid, you’re almost home.
Will the left-wing media go nuts? Yes. Will the rabid interest groups go nuts? Yes. But taxpayers will rejoice and reward genuine leaders with support.
If you think doing the above isn’t possible – you’re wrong. Like Congressman Paul Ryan at the federal level — where the problems are so much bigger – solution outlines continue to be proposed. The National Center for Policy Analysis recently posted one summary, and the consequence of not cleaning up the mess.
Federal Deficits and Debt will soar, says Congressional Budget Office
If solutions are available at the federal level, Illinois is a snap. It only takes real leadership to get the job done.
