Thursday, August 25, 2011

Unemployment: A clear case of cause and effect

Ever wonder why Dick Durban and Rahm Emanuel haven't joined the attack on Rick Perry regarding the generation of jobs in Texas? It seems every other frightened Democrat has taken turns piling on. Perry has developed a potent policy mix of low taxes and minimal regulation that appears to create the perfect potion for a job creating environment.

Illinois, on the other hand seems have provided the perfect antidote to job creation. The Illinois Policy Institute reports that Illinois, known in some state histories as "The Sucker State" lost more jobs than any other state in the union last month.

After losing 7,200 jobs in June, Illinois lost an additional 24,900 non-farm payroll jobs in July. The report (from the Bureau of Labor Statistics) also said Illinois' unemployment rate rose to 9.5%. This marks the third consecutive month of increases in the unemployment rate.

What with favorite son, Barack Obama in the White House, one would think the mountains of stimulus money directed to the Illini, one would think we would see a bit of Unemployment Easing. But no, since January the B.O. State has lost 89,000 jobs.

A handy chart provided by IPI provides startling evidence of the cause of job loss in the Land of Lincoln:


For more on the chart, see this.

It seems those crafty Illinois Democrats have been following the Barack Obama road to revenue enhancement blueprint and enacted record tax increases in January of this year. As the chart clearly indicates, since the tax increase, employment hasn't soared as L'il Barry has suggested it would after increasing taxes. It seems rather to have plummeted.

Despite this test-tube evidence of the failure of tax increases, and abundant data detailing the Keynesian misadventures of the spendaholics in Congress, it appears that Mr. Obama will continue to tax and spend as much as he can until he is driven from office in 2013.

Even the few million people remaining in Illinois will be tired of him by then. May I suggest a new state motto for them? How about: No, really, he's from Hawaii!"

Ralph Alter is a regular contributor to American Thinker.

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