Stephen Moore: The Banana Republic Of Illinois

The media has hyper-obsessed over the Kansas tax hike this year and has sold this as a repudiation of “supply side economics.”  But the real story in the states has been the catastrophic effects of “tax and spend” fiscal policy in Illinois.

Last week Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner continued his three-year standoff with House Speaker for Life Mike Madigan’s liberal Democratic machine over a $5 billion annual income-tax hike. The Democrats have dug in their heels.

Anyone who thinks this soak-the-rich scheme will solve Illinois’ long-term budget crisis should have their head examined. Illinois already ranks in the top three among the 50 states in state-local tax burden, so if raising taxes were any kind of solution here, the Land of Lincoln would be a Garden of Eden.

Instead the state has been a financial basket case for years.