Every week that governor-elect Bruce Rauner comes to Springfield he learns that the state’s fiscal condition is far worse than it was when he came the week before. This time he discovered a plan to request a $760 million supplemental appropriation to make up for “intentionally dishonest” pre-election lowball budgets. We’re horrified that budget shenanigans go on in Springfield, but Rauner intends to right the ship of state with “structural reform,” he told his audience at Tuesday’s Better Government Association luncheon. “Structural reform” sounds like just the thing, but Rauner said it’s too soon to go into detail, leaving us having to guess. More reliance on the income tax would be structural. Or, better yet, a progressive income tax with higher rates for higher incomes is a structure that would bring in plenty of revenue. That may not be what he has in mind. Several times he referred to “structural cost reforms,” which may mean programs for the poor will take the brunt – structurally, that is. –Fletcher Farrar, editor and publisher
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2014.
