Filed under: Capitalism, Economy, Taxes | Tags: Illinois - California - New York, New Jersey, Raising Taxes or Cutting Spending
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie paid a visit to the offices of the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, and he had a message for the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. He advised GOP leaders to reject funding requests from Governors like him.
“Say no to us in terms of more money, said Mr. Christie. “We’ve got to walk the walk as Republicans… and now that we’ve got 29 Republican Governors, we shouldn’t be lining up with our hands out saying, “We know what we said, but come on, give us a little help here.”
He said that if the new House majority is to be successful, they must define success differently, so that a Representative is no longer measured and valued based on how much federal funding he rings home to his district. He said he was delivering his message directly to the new Speaker of the House John Boehner.
The earth didn’t shake and lightning didn’t strike, but it is not exactly usual for a governor to suggest that Congress appropriate less money and write smaller checks.
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Late on Tuesday night, Democrats in the Illinois house and senate rammed through Governor Pat Quinn’s 67% hike in the state income tax and a nearly 50% jump in the state corporate tax. The increase will add $1,400 to the average family’s tax bill, and it will probably not help job creation in a state that has lost 374,000 jobs since 2008.
Governors in close-by states, Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Mitch Daniels of Indiana are happy to welcome Illinois’ departing businesses. The higher income tax and the increases taxes on small businesses and corporations will make Illinois one of the most expensive places in the world to conduct business. It does not repair the state’s $150 billion unfunded pension problem, and it authorizes nearly $4 billion in new debt to fund the state’s pension payments this year.
This was all accomplished in a last-minute lame duck session before the newly elected legislature could be sworn in. It might not have passed if newly elected Republicans were sworn in.
Be a good idea to keep an eye on Illinois, California and New York. It may well turn out to be an important case study, if the House refuses bail outs, as they should. If you reward mismanagement, you’re apt to get more of it.–
