[Meanwhile, in our professional media...]
It's basic economics - when the economy contracts and the flow of money slows, so do tax receipts to local governments, barring maneuvering by the government to impose higher taxes. And that has been a focus of news stories, most notably the state budget woes that have recently hit California.
A June 22 "CBS Evening News" segment showed how, during this sluggish economy, the demand for state government social programs, like welfare, have increased across the county, even as cash-strapped states are in fiscal crisis. But the report didn't point to one of the biggest reasons for state deficits: irresponsible government growth.
But what Bowers didn't explain is the $12-billion gap in Illinois has been caused by the rapid expansion of the size of state government. Illinois state government general funds expenditures increased eight of the nine years between 1999 and 2007, and in six of those nine years expenditures grew by 5 percent or more.
One of the other states in Bowers' report, California, has been a well-documented fiscal train wreck, for which the media have blamed voters who rejected an increase in taxes...
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