Two more reasons for exodus from state

The Foundation for Government Accountability recently reported a huge increase in Medicaid enrollment since eligibility was expanded with Obamacare.

Some of the more significant growth, far beyond original projections, was reported in California, New York, Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio.

Illinois's Medicaid enrollment is up 90 percent beyond original projections according to the Foundation. Illinois' share of new Medicaid enrollment from Obamacare will rise from 0 percent to 5 percent next year and then 10 percent by 2020 exacerbating Illinois's technically bankrupt financial condition.

Our state will have considerably less to spend on other high priorities like funding the state's five grossly underfunded pension plans ($130 billion), education and other social services that have suffered from years of budget mismanagement.

The state's 40,000 American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees need to "get real." Their circus negotiating process needs to stop. In the interest of both taxpayers as well as public union workers, they need to tell their union leaders to quit making contract demands far behind the capabilities of the dwindling list of taxpayers.

Taxpayers are facing a conundrum of state obligations from inept legislative leadership in Springfield. To perpetuate the contract dispute, while costs like Medicaid and unfunded state pension obligation continue to skyrocket, will only accelerate taxpayers' mass migration out of state. Fewer state workers will be needed as the taxpayer population continues to decline. Who will be left to pay the bills?

Mike Tennis

Sleepy Hollow