Springfield lawmakers addicted to spending

Guest Column: Springfield lawmakers addicted to spending
By Rick Bastian
SPECIAL TO RRSTAR.COM

I watched Gov. Pat Quinn deliver his State of the State address earlier this month. I thought he might be on something. His giddy celebration of a few hollow victories, rosy comments about the future and his serving up a plateful of additional spending seemed out of touch with the reality of a state that can’t balance its budget and can’t pay its bills.

It doesn’t matter much that he calls it “spending” or “investment.” The fact of the matter remains that the governor and the politicians in Springfield seem addicted to spending money we don’t have on things we can’t afford using money we have to borrow and don’t know how to pay back. Spending is their drug, and the taxpayer is their junkie.

I call it Oxycotton Politics. “Oxycotton” is the street name for OxyContin, a powerful and potentially very addictive painkiller. OxyContin, like taxes, when used in moderation and for the purposes it was intended, can have a profound impact on the quality of life.

When taken in larger amounts for longer periods of time, the addiction takes over and the separation from reality sets in. The dependency compromises value systems, disrupts and distorts relationships, and promotes classic destructive addictive behaviors.

Addicts lie, so do politicians. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. They promise it will be over with just one more tax increase … just one more. They vow to stop spending but really never do. Only in government can you call a decrease in the rate of increase in spending a “budget cut.” They tout reforms which when examined under the microscope rarely live up to their promise. They call for the tough decisions they never make.

Addicts steal money to feed their habit. The politicians in Springfield have stolen from pensions. They have stolen from schools, agencies, suppliers and other creditors that don’t get paid on time. Unfunded mandates are a great way to have someone else pay for your habit. But the worst theft of all is the intergenerational theft. Our politicians have figuratively forged the names of our kids and grandkids on debt our kids did not incur for things that will not benefit them.

Addicts look for quick fixes in the easy money. Remember when the lottery was approved with the promise that its proceeds would be dedicated to educational funding? Last year’s tax hike was supposed to be “temporary” and put Illinois “back on a fiscal sound footing.” Fat chance! Quinn wanted to borrow our way to prosperity. Now more gambling casinos are the cure for all that ails us. It has the feel of a panhandler thrusting his cup in your face asking for money for a meal when everyone knows it will be used to feed his habit.

Addicts are prone to the denial of problems even though others can see the negative effects. Although it acts like it just has a bad cold that will go away when the sun shines and the economy turns around, Illinois has a terminal illness because its politicians fail to recognize it and commit to doing something about it. The state’s credit rating is now the lowest of all states. Experts say Illinois is a fiscal train wreck. Yet Quinn insists the state is “back on course” and “moving forward.”

It is too bad there is not a Twelve Step program for politicians. There should be. Their first step would be to admit they do not have control over their addiction to spending.

Rick Bastian is president of Blackhawk Bank.