A tale of two states: Illinois wants to borrow, Iowa speaks of "shared sacrifice"

In Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn is proposing borrowing $15 billion, something Quinn is calling a "debt bond" to pay unpaid bills. Borrowing and spending by the Chicago Democrat's predecessor, Rod Blagojevich, is exactly what got us into this mess. It will take years to pay off this debt bomb.

That's not a typo--$15 billion is what Quinn wants to borrow.

Over in Iowa, Governor-elect Terry Branstad, a Republican, offers a more common sense approach:

We're going to need the cooperation from all (Iowans) to recognize that we only have a limited amount of money, and we're going to have to find the most efficient and economical way to deliver those services, and that means that there needs to be shared sacrifice.

Among the fiscal indiscretions committed by Quinn is a union contract with AFSCME, the state's largest public employee union, which protects their members from layoffs for two years. That deal was announced a few days after AFSCME endorsed him.

No shared sacrifice.

Quinn also favors an income tax hike.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Policy Institute, a freemarket think tank, offers a more prudent plan to fix Illinois' fiscal problems--without raising taxes or borrowing.

Technorati tags: Politics economy news Patrick Quinn pat quinn government taxes gop illinois politics elections Republican iowa politics terry branstadillinois policy institute labor unions AFSCME