Public services being cut to pay for pensions

a reply to: JAGStorm

Based upon your OP I did some research and I may have found tthe source of your problem!

en.m.wikipedia.org...

Illinois is a Democratic stronghold, and it is considered one of the most Democratic states in the US.[156] Historically, Illinois was a political swing state, with near-parity existing between the Republican and the Democratic parties. However, in recent elections, the Democratic Party has gained ground, and Illinois has come to be seen as a solid "blue" state in presidential campaigns.[157][158] Votes from Chicago and most of Cook County have long been strongly Democratic. However, the "collar counties" (the suburbs surrounding Chicago's Cook County, Illinois), can be seen as moderate voting districts.[159][160] College towns like Carbondale, Champaign, and Normal also lean Democratic.

Then of course there's this:

Politics in the state have been infamous for highly visible corruption cases, as well as for crusading reformers, such as governors Adlai Stevenson and James R. Thompson. In 2006, former Governor George Ryan was convicted of racketeering and bribery, leading to a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence. In 2008, then-Governor Rod Blagojevich was served with a criminal complaint on corruption charges, stemming from allegations that he conspired to sell the vacated Senate seat left by President Barack Obama to the highest bidder. Subsequently, on December 7, 2011, Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for those charges, as well as perjury while testifying during the case, totaling 18 convictions. Blagojevich was impeached and convicted by the legislature, resulting in his removal from office. In the late 20th century, Congressman Dan Rostenkowski was imprisoned for mail fraud; former governor and federal judge Otto Kerner, Jr. was imprisoned for bribery; Secretary of State Paul Powell was investigated and found to have gained great wealth through bribes, and State Auditor of Public Accounts (Comptroller) Orville Hodge was imprisoned for embezzlement. In 1912, William Lorimer, the GOP boss of Chicago, was expelled from the U.S. Senate for bribery and in 1921, Governor Len Small was found to have defrauded the state of a million dollars.

So, basically.............Illinois is screwed and there is no real political diversity and your elections are mostly just a confirmation process for what is decided in the Democrat party primary elections.

Bankruptcy has a face and the State of Illinois is wearing it.

originally posted by: contextual
Capitalist ideology

Wrong group. Try Liberal Socialists it works better.

originally posted by: contextual
a reply to: JAGStorm

My friends have already have felt the pains in Illinois, streets not being cleared of snow, not enough police, yet sky high taxes. This isn't right. I've seen some of this happening in my area too. The police force is a skeleton crew. The sheriff even told me how stretched they are.

Back to the question if public services etc aren't really providing a service or are providing a partial service, why do taxpayers have to pay for it?

Capitalist ideology is to run down public services to the point the public demand a change which leads to privatization, you gotta find who would benefit from that.
The UK is seeing the tory government run down the NHS, (un)surprisingly lots of tory politicians have squillions of quid invested in private health care companies.
Taxpayers should get what they pay for but, with the choices being between capitalist Democrats or uber-capitalist Republicans is it any wonder public services are run down?

No, government services are a natural monopoly and as such service sucks and waste high. Government does not have the natural forces of a competitive market to keep it in check. There is little to no accountability and no consequences unlike a private business that may find it out of business if they are not serving their customers well.

Taxpayers know this and want to ensure that their money is not being wasted.