Local Commentaries

All the yakking about a fiscal cliff seems to fall somewhere between mistaken Mayan prophecies about Doomsday and hypersonic skydiving from space.

The lame-duck 112th Congress – hamstrung by Tea Party Republicans in the House and filibuster-happy Republicans in the Senate – is proposing to Democratic President Barack Obama that Social Security, Medicare and other social services be cut. Meanwhile, the Economic Policy Institute has released a report with a solution: Cut the deficit by growing the economy.

Congressman Aaron Schock shouldn’t have it both ways. The two-term Republican from Illinois’ 18th District has been mentioned as a possible GOP candidate for governor in 2014, and after last month’s election losses, the 31 year old has been quoted as saying his party should move toward the middle of the road.

Although Schock was easily re-elected, his opponent was neither well-funded nor strong, and within Schock’s district, 8 of 10 counties between Peoria and the Quad Cities voted for President Obama.

Illinois’ friends of labor must be feeling a double-whammy double-cross , as Gov. Pat Quinn last month terminated the state’s contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and House Speaker Mike Madigan revived his dormant resolution to limit raises to people who work for the state.

The best route from a slow recovery to a stable economy is one where employers and workers are partners in a cooperative venture to prosper, and instead of standing in the way of employees who seek the middle class by organizing unions, the nation’s biggest umbrella organization for business, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, should encourage workers to have a stake in their companies.