Higher taxes causing Illinois to bleed jobs

IBD:

As another manufacturer leaves, Illinois leads the nation in job loss in July. The free fall began with a tax hike. When will liberals learn when you tax something, you get less of it?

The states were envisioned by the Founding Fathers as islands of sovereignty, laboratories of democracy, each free to discover what works and what doesn't. In Illinois, the experiment of taxing your way back to prosperity has failed miserably.

The passage of a 67% income tax hike in January 2011, as well as higher corporate taxes, has coincided with a downturn in state employment. Since the enactment of this massive tax increase, Illinois has lost 89,000 jobs.

This move by Illinois Democrats in the state legislature and Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has helped drive businesses such as Blue Island, Ill..-based Modern Drop Forge Co., an automotive parts company with 240 employees, out of the state, in this case into the welcoming arms of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniel's Indiana.

Echoing the concerns of companies including Peoria-based Caterpillar, the CEO of Modern Drop Forge told CBS2 Chicago that "Illinois is becoming very, very unfriendly to manufacturers. We now have the highest state income tax in the United States, and the overall income taxes for corporations in Illinois are among the highest in the free world."

As the Illinois Policy Institute notes, the state lost more jobs in July than any other state in the nation, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. After losing 7,200 nonfarm payroll jobs in June, Illinois lost 24,900 more in July. The report also says Illinois' unemployment rate climbed for the third-straight month and now tops the national average at 9.5%.

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Liberalism is not working. States like Indiana, and Texas are gaining jobs while the blue states continue to bleed companies and jobs. How much longer will places like Illinois continue to elect liberal Democrats?