Long run OK for Rauner; not for Illinois
Regarding the Illinois financial crisis facing Governor Elect Bruce Rauner, former governor and Rauner transition advisor Jim Edger made this truly disingenuous statement:
"I'm amazed he was able to say as little and promise as little and get elected."
Nobody should be amazed that Rauner won by running a fraudulent campaign based on tax cuts for every individual and corporation, including the wealthy ones, while critical departments like Corrections and Human Services are already running out of money. When pressed, Rauner offered no specifics, just the need to trust a billionaire who made his fortune, in part, by gaming the tax laws to his advantage at the expense of the public. Now Rauner is the public but he's not changed his spots on iota. He's suddenly shocked, shocked that the state's financial condition is worse than he realized during the campaign.
But Edgar did get one thing right when he said, "Doomsday's coming, we do not have a printing press."
Outgoing Governor Quinn ran a principled campaign based on spending cuts, tax increases, paying down the pension deficit, paying state vendors more quickly and maintaining essential services.
We know how Bruce Rauner made his billion. We have no idea how he's going to salvage Illinois based on tax cuts for everyone which will double our debt while critical agencies run out of money. His final take is simply: "I ain't perfect. I fail sometimes. But you know what? In the long run I don't fail." That may work for Bruce Rauner's long run but not for Illinois. The state doesn't have one.
"I'm amazed he was able to say as little and promise as little and get elected."
Nobody should be amazed that Rauner won by running a fraudulent campaign based on tax cuts for every individual and corporation, including the wealthy ones, while critical departments like Corrections and Human Services are already running out of money. When pressed, Rauner offered no specifics, just the need to trust a billionaire who made his fortune, in part, by gaming the tax laws to his advantage at the expense of the public. Now Rauner is the public but he's not changed his spots on iota. He's suddenly shocked, shocked that the state's financial condition is worse than he realized during the campaign.
But Edgar did get one thing right when he said, "Doomsday's coming, we do not have a printing press."
Outgoing Governor Quinn ran a principled campaign based on spending cuts, tax increases, paying down the pension deficit, paying state vendors more quickly and maintaining essential services.
We know how Bruce Rauner made his billion. We have no idea how he's going to salvage Illinois based on tax cuts for everyone which will double our debt while critical agencies run out of money. His final take is simply: "I ain't perfect. I fail sometimes. But you know what? In the long run I don't fail." That may work for Bruce Rauner's long run but not for Illinois. The state doesn't have one.
posted by Walt Zlotow at 6:42 AM
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