To help citizens determine if Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget is
truly balanced the Institute for Truth in Accounting has published “Are
We Unbalanced? - A Guide to Reviewing Governments’ Budgets”.
“You
and I would not consider our personal budgets balanced, if we had to
borrow money to pay our bills,” stated Sheila Weinberg, Founder &
CEO of the Institute. “It amazes me that we let the Governor and
legislators get away with this political math when calculating the
state’s ‘balanced’ budget.”
The state constitution requires a
balanced budget. The guide urges citizens to ask the Governor and
legislators three questions to determine if the state budget is truly
balanced. Will our bills be paid on time? Will you borrow money?
Will you pay the required pension contributions?
For decades
governors and legislators have claimed balanced budget, but now the
state is more than $98 billion in debt. “You may ask how this can
happen,” said Roger Nelson, Chairman of IFTA’s Board of Directors.
“Well, it all depends on how you count. The state requires
corporations to use accounting that takes into consideration the long
term consequences of their actions. We should demand nothing less from
our elected officials when they calculate a balanced budget.”
To
promote financial transparency and to provide the public and elected
officials with a comprehensive picture of the government’s total
activity the long-term effects of budget decisions, Rep. Mike Tryon
recently introduced the Truth in Accounting Act. Representatives Jack
D. Franks, Patricia R. Bellock, Michael G. Connelly, Jim Durkin,
Roger L. Eddy, Richard P. Myers, David Reis, Jim Watson and Robert W.
Pritchard are sponsors of HB5212.
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The Institute for
Truth in Accounting was created by distinguished financial and public
policy experts concerned with the quality of public and private
organizations' financial reporting. It is the mission of the IFTA to
encourage private and public entities to produce financial reports that
are comprehensive, comprehensible and transparent and to inform the
public of the importance of truthful accounting.
IFTA actively
seeks association with other public interest groups that recognize the
need to improve financial reporting or want to better understand the
financial effects of current accounting practices. The Institute is a
non-profit, public interest group that does not advocate public policy
beyond better, and thereby, more truthful, accounting. For more
information about the Institute, visit www.truthinaccounting.org, www.truthin2010.org, www.StateBudgetWatch.org.
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1500 Skokie Boulevard, Suite 304
Northbrook, IL 60062
847-835-5200
