2019 is here. 

If you are a Democrat, the New Year’s party continues. 

Nancy Pelosi has regained her crown of Queen in Washington after being reelected as Speaker of the House. In Springfield, we have a new titular King in Governor Pritzker. Illinois has corrupted the royalty and Speaker Madigan simply will continue to be the power in Springfield and nothing will happen until his ring is kissed and fealty is pledged. 

Illinois is the deepest of blue states after our new state officials are sworn in. The plus side for the Democrats is that they own the legislation in Springfield. They control the legislature and the Executive branches of government. If the Democrats in Springfield maintain their party line, they can pass whatever legislation they want. They have the votes and the Republicans essentially have one vote to two on the Democratic side of the aisle. 

The negative side for the Democrats is that they own the legislation in Springfield. Republicans will have minimal input as they simply have no voting majorities. They are truly a minority party at this time. If something fails, it will be viewed as a Democratic failure since the Republicans have minimal say, if any.

Illinois has serious fiscal problems. State pensions are underfunded and our highways and bridges are in need of major capital improvement. There is nothing like a fiscal crisis to get my Democratic friends in a taxing frenzy. 

You will not see much done in the area of fiscal belt tightening. You will see a  strong attempt to tax the public to solve the problems of years in the making. Pritzker appears to favor of a graduated income tax. There is much talk of an increase in the gasoline tax. This is being pushed at this time  gas prices are low. A gas tax will be painful and perhaps catastrophically so when the gas prices rise of their own accord, which they surely will. 

DeWitt County is as rural a county as you will see in Illinois. We drive cars because there is no public transportation. Chicago wants the tax to fund their roads and public transportation and they have the voting power. I simply see some major tax increases coming to Illinois, which will be very detrimental to downstate residents.

In Washington, Pelosi is back. Pelosi loves the power of the Speaker’s gavel and she certainly knows how to wield the gavel. The issue to be seen is if she can contain the far left element of her party. 

I view Pelosi as a left of center Democrat, but certainly not a radical left socialist. Pelosi’s problem is that the radical left in her party is gaining a lot of traction with young voters. They want it, whatever it is, now. Unlike their parents and grandparents who worked and saved for retirement. 

Like Springfield, this group really wants to tax the wealth of this nation and then redistribute it to the have nots. They tend to believe that even illegal immigrants are entitled to this wealth. 

Pelosi is a very astute politician and she wants to retain her Speaker’s gavel. In some form or fashion she will support much of the entitlement demands of the progressive left as that is becoming the voting base of the Democratic party. 

The common thought narrative is that if you are on the public dole, “you will vote Democratic” is part of the mantra. That simply means the working folks and small business owners will be taxed to pay for the entitlement dole that is coming.