Can Steve Rauschenberger balance the budget?
This is from a Chicago Tribune story back in December about the gubernatorial candidates plans for balancing the budget. The Tribune consulted with Mr. Rauschenberger, whom they describe–as he is often described–as a state budget expert.
Steve Rauschenberger, a former state senator and a budget expert, said it would require, among other things, cutting school spending and switching to a voucher system, reducing the number of prison inmates by one-quarter, trimming higher education and overhauling Medicaid from top to bottom.
“Any candidate who doesn’t talk frankly about major changes … I don’t think is being realistic,” Rauschenberger said. “You can’t balance this budget simply by looking for easy efficiencies or slight reductions in head count.”
Mr. Rauschenberger’s suggestions are probably more specific than anything you will ever see from the gubernatorial candidates. I guess the question of interest to voters here is whether he is advocating these changes, and whether as state senator he will pursue this route to balancing the budget.
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Didn’t know Steve was running for governor. Oh, he isn’t!
“Chicago Tribune story back in December about the gubernatorial candidates plans for balancing the budget. ”
No, not really. it was really more of a political hatchet job slamming the GOP candidates for refusing to divulge specifics on reducing spending. That pretty much was the entire article except for a very short blurb about the democratic candidates facing the very same difficulty only they want to raise taxes to balance the budget.
The title to the article says it also: “Ill. budget raises tough questions for GOP”
That the reporter omits the never bothers to mention the FACT that candidates at this stage of the campaign don’t offer specifics because specifics tend to alienate rather than attract, at this stage of the campaign…
The budget raises tough questions…. Period!!!! To single out the GOP when the DEMs currently in charge clearly haven’t a clue beyond raising taxes in the middle of an economic recession may very well be the reason why I don’t the rag called the Chicago Tribune.
If you had to bet what political persuasion do you think that reporter is? That he was incapable of treating the question fairly as it pertains to ALL the candidates is blatantly obvious.