Governor Ryan came up with his ‘Built Illinois’ program that dictated infrastructure improvements, which coincidentally were performed by politically connected contractors in politically-connected districts. (Which is why many call it the ‘Bilk Illinois’ program.)

The problem was that the taxpayer was forced to pay for this by raising ‘fees’, ‘licenses’ and other ‘revenue-enhancements’. Obama went along with this, even though he knew that the rest of the Illinois obligations towards the pension system, the Medicare system, and school system were about to bring a financial disaster to the state.

Of course, he was able to get himself another job which he grew too weary of doing, so he started running for the Presidency, where he could always blame Congress, his advisors, and of course, George Bush for any problems which might make him look bad for lack of leadership.

It’s hard not to think that the urban ‘enlightened’ who dominate the political class have much to do with that highway decay. Much of their thinking is anti-individual and collectivist, and tends to light on massive ‘solutions’ to congestion such as light rail schemes. Those not only get lots of publicity, but soak up a lot of tax dollars which can be then spread through their hierarchies to benefit consultant groups and unions, from which many votes can later be harvested.

Tax dollars going to support road networks would also support freedom of choice of individual travellers, to determine their own routing and scheduling. But those wise urban elites also largely combine to punish people who use and depend on cars, saying loudly that their mass-transportation schemes are far superior than any one driver’s misinformed choice of where and when to go. It’s no wonder that the highway systems are in decay, since the tax dollars which might have maintained them are siphoned off for mega-transportation schemes no matter how financially unproductive.

We may expect the collectivist Obama administration to accelerate and exaggerate this sort of thinking – all those millions of ‘new jobs’ are unlikely to go into highway maintenance.

Stop all foreign aid and spend the money on Americans. It’s their cash after all.

Yes, it’s ridiculous, but bear in mind that not only is Obama NOT going to do anything to unleash the oil companies, he has promised to punish them — punish them by seizing a portion of their profits to provde “energy rebates” to “middle class Americans”.

The new president also can’t afford not to intervene in the economic crisis: both sides of the aisle will be at his throat in 2012 if it appears he didn’t act when he needed to in order to help stem the crisis. I’m betting the leftist illuminati don’t want the possibility of a Hillary challenge in four years, not because they’re against her, but because it would be so divisive to the party.