Quinn finds kindred spirits in trip to Spain

As Gov. Pat Quinn surveyed Madrid during his recent 4-day trip to Spain, at least he had the satisfaction of knowing Illinois’ financial status was better than that of his hosts.

Spain’s finances are rocky, indeed. The country is in the midst of negotiating a 100 billion euro bank bailout plan with the European Union to prop up its troubled banks.

The government is struggling to reduce its budget deficit to about 3 percent of its annual economic output of $1.5 trillion. That will take cuts of $80 billion over the next 30 months, according to the Associated Press.

Spain’s staggering 24.3 percent unemployment does not help matters any.

By contrast, Illinois’ government saw its revenue increase because of the January 2010 income tax increases signed by Quinn.

Unemployment has trended downward since the recession “ended” 3 years ago and now stands at 8.4 percent.

The governor has cut a lot from the state budget and plans to close several prisons and other state agencies to save money.

Still, state government continues to spend more money that it takes in, vendors are owed $8 billion, the state’s overall debt is in the multibillions, and too many people are out of work.

Quinn said he took the unannounced trip to Spain to thank companies there for doing business with Illinois, noting that Illinois exports to Spain have risen by 29 percent.

The governor also hoped to drum up new business, particularly in the biotechnology and high-speed rail sectors. He met with businesses, commercial associations and government representatives.

In his talks with Spanish leaders, Quinn apparently found kindred spirits. Interestingly, the Spanish government announced tax hikes and spending cuts this week. Perhaps Quinn offered the Spaniards some advice worth taking.

In traveling outside the state to woo business, Quinn is not tilting at windmills. Hey, if you’ve got a product to sell, you’ve got to go out and sell it.