Springfield disconnect can be fixed by laying off lawmakers

Radio Shack. HHGregg. Gander Mountain. Gordmans. Payless Shoesource. Aeropostale.

All these retailers are in bankruptcy, with some closing completely.

Now news that the granddaddy of retailers is about to fail. Sears created shopping at home with delivery to your home 131 years ago, with brick and mortar stores a relatively recent addition in 1925. Online retailers took their model and are burying them.

Sears is based in the Chicago suburbs. They once were housed in Chicago’s tallest building. You’d think our state leaders would be familiar with them and their woes.

Instead, state leaders demonstrate again just how disconnected they are from reality. They decide now is the time to push for a $15 minimum wage, up from $8.25 at present.

Never mind that our minimum wage is already higher than every state we border, or that we lost 114,144 residents last year — including 1,000 here in St. Clair County. If we really want to do some serious damage to the service economy, push all those brick and mortar stores off the edge of the cliff by significantly increasing their labor costs.

At least Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner seems to get it: “That’s not gonna happen. Companies will just leave.”

For more evidence of how the Springfield bubble acts like the Cone of Silence, turn to the recent report on just how rarely state lawmakers pay attention to cost.

Of 938 bills passed by lawmakers during 2015 and 2016, only 27 had fiscal notes telling lawmakers the financial burden created by their new laws, according to an analysis by the Illinois Policy Institute.

“They’re passing bills left and right without a clue as to how much they will cost – or considering whether Illinois even has enough money to pay for them,” said Kristina Rasmussen, president of the Institute. “No private citizen, family or business can afford to act this way. It’s unacceptable that our elected officials are allowed to get away with this.”

Sears would be just fine if only shoppers acted like state lawmakers and ignored the price tags.

So how do you burst the bubble and get those who spend your money to pay closer attention to the real world?

Term limits: Get behind an effort to turn career politicians into citizen public servants. Dethrone His Majesty Mike Madigan, because no one should be in control for 34 years.

Or, we can continue waiting for Springfield to fix itself. Waiting... still waiting... still out here waiting....

This story was originally published April 29, 2017 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Springfield disconnect can be fixed by laying off lawmakers."