Illinois Recession

It's so hard to be positive about the state of the State of Illinois these days.

I look for positives -- and there are plenty of them.  But, the negatives just keep coming and coming and coming.

Here's a recent one you may have seen:

After a couple years of robust tax collections, states across the U.S. are better prepared than ever to weather a potential recession, according to a report released Monday that examines states’ savings.

The good news in the report from Moody’s Analytics is tempered by the reality that one-fifth of all states still have nowhere near enough money set aside to survive a recession without resorting to spending cuts or tax hikes. 

A total of 28 states have enough cash on hand to offset a projected decline in tax revenue and rise in Medicaid spending that would stem from a moderate recession, Moody’s Analytics determined. An additional 12 states are close enough — within 5 percentage points of the amount needed — that they also could likely avoid taking drastic measures to keep the state afloat.

Moody’s Analytics found 10 states with a greater than 5 percentage point shortfall in the amount of reserves necessary to survive a moderate recession. Louisiana ranked the worst, followed by Illinois, Kentucky, Oklahoma and New Jersey. Rounding out the bottom 10 were Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Arkansas, New Hampshire and Florida.

(https://apnews.com/8aa5ca47b0e64dc98e32b6374f2e4706)

Louisiana #50.

Illinois #49.

Go us!!

If a moderate recession were to strike, Illinois would face a shortfall equaling 8.8 percent of its total 2019 revenues, the analysis says. That’s the second worst outcome among the 50 states, according to Moody’s Analytics.

That state’s current rainy-day balance represents 0 percent of its 2019 revenues, the study found. The severity of the fiscal shock the state would face in a moderate recession equals 10.9 percent of the 2019 funds, according to the study. 

(https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/moody-s-illinois-in-nd-worst-position-in-u-s/article_e6bd8230-2db2-11ea-9a06-23e6d46edfeb.html)

And Springfield just continues to spend more and more money on expanding programs rather than contracting things.

So disheartening.

Grace & Peace & Love to you all -

Matt

p.s. and more news from Moody's:

2 U.S. cities are not prepared for a recession:

DETROIT

and CHICAGO

(https://money.yahoo.com/recession-2-cities-not-prepared-moodys-175949126.html)