Would this be a shining city on a hill, exciting the admiration of all? We don't have to guess, because there is such a city right here in our country............

Check out the article to find out where it is.

Here's a hint.....It's gone from being the wealthiest city in America to the 2nd poorest.

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Union news......
    The main stream media has followed Wisconsin's attempt to extricate itself from the undue influence of the public sector unions.  But, I'm seeing little coverage (by comparison) of the HUGE deal going on in Minnesota.  Voters in Hubert Humphreys liberal bastion will be going to polls this November to decide if Minnesota becomes a "right to work" state.  
    If the provision is passed, Minnesota will become the 24th state in the  US to have right to work laws.  

    The media is keeping rather mum.....lest the other states find out about this growing trend.

    Right now, polls are showing the referendum being supported 2-1, by Minnesota voters. YOWZA!!

    If this passes in liberal Minnesota, unions have BIG problems nationwide.   

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Chopping Wood

Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company, had a home in the Detroit suburbs that featured the following quote above the fireplace: "The man who chops his own wood, warms himself twice."

It's a great adage that remains true today.  But I wonder if the reverse might also be true.

The number of people on medicaid in the state of Illinois has grown.   

In 2001, the state of Illinois had more than 1.4 million people receiving medicaid benefits.  That represented 11% of the state's population. 

Care to guess what the number has grown to in 2011?  

2.7 million people, or 21% of the Illinois population!!  (Sorry about that.  Yes, I too spit my drink on my screen when I read the number.)

Setting aside the fraud and abuse that drives part of the increase, I'm drawn back to the adage on Ford's mantlepiece.

If the man who chops his own wood warms himself twice, then the government that dispenses largesse without responsibility harms the recipient twice (and maybe more).

The recipient is demeaned by not having any accountability (or responsibility) for the gift (even passing a drug test).  The government support also slowly erodes the work ethic that the citizen may have once had.  The government is successfully decoupling "reward" from "effort".

The reward, for a citizen, now becomes "gaming" the system. Having a child out of wedlock, allows a couple to get more entitlement dollars than if they were to be married.  (So we are rewarding non-marriage too!  Great.)  

And, of course, we've basically sentenced subsequent generations to government dependance, as well.    

A government that chops it's spending (and reduces taxes) unburdens it's citizens, TWICE!