Senate Dems live in denial, turn to propaganda

Denial— a failure to acknowledge an unacceptable truth or emotion or to admit it into your consciousness, used as a defense mechanism. Illinois’ Senate Democrats launched a website called “I Like Illinois.” The explicit purpose of the site, according to their tweets, is to “counter negativity of Illinois Policy Institute.” This purpose is ironic, given...

Denial— a failure to acknowledge an unacceptable truth or emotion or to admit it into your consciousness, used as a defense mechanism.

Illinois’ Senate Democrats launched a website called “I Like Illinois.” The explicit purpose of the site, according to their tweets, is to “counter negativity of Illinois Policy Institute.”

This purpose is ironic, given that the Illinois Policy Institute is tasked with countering the real-life negativity, in the form of economic hardship, which lawmakers have been imposing on the people of Illinois.

We do this by pointing out policy errors, highlighting the pain these policy mistakes cause Illinoisans and proposing solutions that embrace the state’s rich tradition of free enterprise.

The tough reality is that Illinoisans are facing the worst jobs recovery in the entire United States. There are 300,000 fewer Illinoisans working today than when the Great Recession began. In addition, Illinois is the only state in the Midwest that is putting more people on food stamps than onto payroll jobs.

Illinois also has the worst employment rates for black men and youth workers in the entire Midwest – this is just one more tough reality related to the state’s policy failures.

Perhaps this reality doesn’t penetrate the Springfield political bubble, but it is real, and it is affecting Illinoisans.

Rather than acknowledging policy errors and searching for sustainable solutions, the Senate Democrats have decided to turn to propaganda. For example, their webpage highlights that Illinois is the national leader in soybean production, an admirable fact that speaks to our rich soil and the productivity of our farmers.

However, as we have pointed out several times, Illinois is one of only 15 states to impose a death tax on farmers, making it difficult to keep family farms intact. This is an immoral and economically ridiculous way to treat our farmers, and leads to less productive use of land. It also encourages farmers to sell their land and move out of state before they pass away.

Our solution? Repeal the death tax (and the franchise tax), and pay for it by eliminating crony spending that only benefits politically connected businesses.

The page also highlights a marginal improvement in Illinois workers’ compensation premiums, which rank fourth most expensive in the U.S. – hardly something to brag about. Workers’ comp regularly drives manufacturers to hop the border to Indiana.

Even Attorney General Lisa Madigan has repeatedly stated that the General Assembly needs to address real workers’ comp reform so that employers only pay for injuries that occur on the job.

The site’s most puzzling claim is that Right-to-Work states such as Indiana and Texas somehow rely on Illinois union workers’ wages, citing a study that is based on tremendously flawed methodology.

The reality is that Indiana and Texas gain Illinois manufacturers and workers every year. Illinois, on the other hand, has the worst recovery of manufacturing jobs in the Midwest, another painful reality that can only be addressed through policy solutions.

The question isn’t who likes Illinois. We all do – that’s why we all live here. The question is whether policy leaders are willing and able to fix the state through policy solutions.

If a propaganda page is the best Senate Democrats can do for struggling Illinoisans, that’s simply not good enough – and the Illinois Policy Institute won’t let off in saying so.