Folks, make no mistake—this is the story of two state Republican Parties. One competent (Wisconsin’s), one inept (Illinois’):
Wisconsin has pulled back from the brink of fiscal insolvency after Governor Scott Walker’s collective bargaining and budget reforms, despite doomsday warnings of fiscal disaster.
Neighboring Illinois, whose Democratic governor opted for tax hikes, has not fared as well.
[…]
The two states took divergent paths in 2010 in dealing with looming fiscal insolvency. While Walker pushed spending cuts and public sector reforms, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and the state legislature floated $7 billion in new taxes, including a 67 percent individual income tax increase and a 46 percent corporate tax increase.
