globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com / By Mike “Mish” Shedlock / Thursday, February 07, 2013 4:34 PM
I received an interesting email moments ago from John Tillman at the Illinois Policy Institute, a non-partisan watchdog of the ongoing mess in Illinois.
I traced the source back to an excellent article on Illinois Review written by Ben VanMetre, a Senior Budget and Tax Policy Analyst at the Illinois Policy Institute.
Please consider a repost of Quinn’s Illinois: regulations and cronyism crush entrepreneurship by Ben VanMetre.
In Gov. Pat Quinn’s State of the State address, he said, “In our Illinois, small business means big business. Driving economic growth for small businesses requires doing all we can to make sure government is not in the way.”
Quinn is right. Illinois’ economic future depends on a vibrant economy where entrepreneurs can start and grow businesses, create jobs and compete.
Unfortunately, Quinn’s policy solutions contradict his rhetoric. Quinn has been fighting for more government involvement in business, not less.
Despite the fact that Illinois already has $9.3 billion in unpaid bills, in his State of the State address Quinn advocated more government involvement in job creation and business activity: spending for roads, bridges, construction, high-speed rail, water infrastructure, technology, manufacturing and clean energy. More money for government projects requires higher revenues – this leads to calls for higher taxes, on top of the state’s highly regulated business climate. These factors explain why Illinois has one of the least competitive economies in the nation.
