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Total Recall
Monday, November 05, 2007
By Dan Proft
- Don Wade & Roma Morning Show - WLS 890-AM
Politicians in Illinois are masters at addressing the symptoms of problems rather than the problems themselves. In keeping with this storied tradition, last week Lt. Governor Pat Quinn took time out of his busy schedule of shopping center ribbon cuttings to introduce legislation that would allow Illinoisans to recall their elected officials like, say, Governor Blagojevich, for instance. In 2003, Californians traded in Governor Gray Davis for Arnold Schwarzenegger. Maybe we could get Governor Joe Mategna, a Cicero-native, for Illinois? As much fun as a Governor Joey Zasa (for you Godfather III fans) would be, however, the recall idea is akin to putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. Illinois' mortal peril can be summed up in one number: $59 billion. That is the amount of the FY 2008 Illinois state budget. To paraphrase P.J. O'Rourke, as long as buying and selling is controlled by Illinois legislation, the first thing to be bought and sold will be Illinois legislators. Illinois state government is too big, too powerful and too expensive. A recall just reshuffles the deck without changing the rules of the game. The forcible extraction and distribution of $59 billion of other people's money is what perverts our economy and our politics. The extractors and distributors are merely the implementation tools. The process of doling out $59 billion worth of goodies sustains the permanent political class currently inflicted upon Illinois, including a General Assembly whose work is seemingly never done. Interminable attention is paid to the money politicians raise and spend to run for office but campaign cash is relatively incidental. If spending limits were properly applied to government, concerns about influence-peddling would take care of themselves for the simple fact that there would be less influence to peddle. With or without Governor Blagojevich, nothing will change in Illinois until Illinoisans recall the principles of limited government and subsequently demand that their money be recalled from Springfield. © All Rights Reserved |
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