You Have to be Kidding, Right?

The state has left the largest budget question this year without an answer; How to fund this years pension contributions.

Link to the article over at Progress Illinois

I have always found Progress Illinois to have a very Barak Obama feel to it. The site as a whole seems to tilt a little to the left, which is fine so long as when you read it you keep that in mind. Their party has let them down and they know it.

Link to Center for Tax and Budget Accountability "White Paper"

I know this was linked to in the Progress article as well but its to important to miss. It more like a "red paper" as the budget as we knew all along does not look pretty. Everyone can see now there simply is not enough money to fund what the state needs to fund.

The "deficit" without the pension contribution is about $7 billion. Divide that among the roughly 13 million people living in our fine state and that's about $540 a person. Spread each persons share over three years and add 5% interest to defer the payments and would would each end up owing the state about $190 a year, well we wouldn't owe the state really because they aren't paying their bills.

Does anyone want this? No. But its an idea which is more than Springfield has provided us in the last couple of years. Spread it over five years or ten years, it doesn't matter. The money must come from us the taxpayers. Yes I think the state should ask us for more money, in tough economic times, its a solution. Its the simplest solution which might also lead to fewer votes in November.

Now we just need somewhere to get another $4 billion to make those pension payments, to a pension fund that is already underfunded.