Illinois is looking bad for business

The Wall Street Journal reported recently that Republican governors’ new economic strategy is to persuade California’s business leaders to relocate their corporations to business-friendly states. States like Florida and Texas are far more appealing locations for corporations to do business, in part, because of their lack of personal income taxes. Moreover, Texas has no corporate income tax at all.

According to the WSJ, 144 major companies left California and relocated to other states in 2010 — triple the rate of the loss of firms departing California in 2009. Chief Executive magazine ranks California as the most anti-business state in the nation. The magazine cites California’s excessive personal, corporate and sales taxes, a high unemployment rate, the worst bond rating in the country, high crime rates, vexatious regulations and powerful unions. That almost sounds like a description of Illinois.

The governors of Florida and Texas may decide to take a long, hard look at Illinois’ anti-business climate and entice some corporations to leave the state.

Chief Executive magazine ranks Illinois No. 46 as one of the worst states in the nation for business, citing its high unemployment rate and its high personal, corporate, sales and property taxes. The magazine assigned Illinois that ranking before the state’s legislature proposed the latest tax hikes.

Since our tax-and-spend state legislators helped to get us into this mess, I propose that we go the way of New Hampshire. Pay the legislators $200 per two-year term and no per diem. Why shouldn’t they share the pain with the rest of us?

Karen Malec

Schaumburg