Illinois’s Pride of Place

Over at his place Walter Russell Mead has a very nice essay, something of a cri de coeur on the failure of either political party to come up with practical solutions for the problems that are already at hand:

Just because deep blue Democrats prefer sentiment over analysis and let their allegiance to vested interests trump their concern for the poor is no excuse for Republicans to treat the students of Chicago State with indifference. It’s fine to say “hold the line on taxes and starve the beast”—and there are times when this is necessary. But doing that alone is not a plan for better governance. Illinois’ budget woes are a direct result of years of terrible decisions and the absence of serious planning at both state and local levels. And the chief victims of this neglect of duty are poor people—those who depend most on government for services.

Where are the plans for a revitalization of Illinois and Chicago? Where are the proposals for changes in the way Illinois is administered, its higher ed system organized, its pension burdens managed and rationalized? How will the built-in cost structures that make cities like Chicago so difficult to operate in be reduced? How will the costs of interacting with the regulatory state be reined in, and the process simplified for businesses and homeowners? How will the miserably failing school systems of Chicago and other communities be revived, and labor relations in the school system detoxified? And, among these larger questions, how will the students at Chicago State finish their coursework and get their degrees?

To understand both the voter frustration and the political polarization of the country, it’s necessary to see how neither party is offering real solutions for these problems. The Democrats just keep looking for new funds to pour into the sinkhole; Republicans hope to starve the beast to force a crisis. Neither agenda will do much for Illinois. Democrats’ proposals stave off present pain at the cost of making the inevitable day of reckoning that much worse. Republicans bring on Armageddon now without any idea of what comes after. Voters are right to hold both approaches in disdain. They are right to be contemptuous of the party machines and the think tank apparatchiks who can’t come up with anything better. Until one or both parties develops workable approaches to the serious problems the country faces, politics is going to remain open to demagogues and con artists.

The post is headed with side by side pictures of Bruce Rauner, Illinois’s present Republican governor, and Pat Quinn, his Democratic predecessor. It’s nice to know that Illinois can always serve as an object lesson. At least we’re good for something.

We’ve already admitted that we have a problem but it’s not clear to me there’s much agreement on what the problem is. Democrats seem to feel that the problem is that the state doesn’t have enough revenue. Republicans’ preferred strategies tend to favor promoting economic growth. My own view is that there is no amount of revenue that will ever be enough as long as the state’s revenue needs are growing faster than the state’s economy is.

We should settle on whether we’re taking a retrospective approach or a “day forward” approach to solving the state’s problems. It’s going to be darned hard to put the past off limits since we’re still living with the repercussions of past decisions. The state’s constitution doesn’t allow us to just roll back all of the bad decisions of the last 30 years.

I also think that Republicans should start thinking in terms of a transition plan rather than a revolution.

7 comments… add one
  • PD Shaw Link

    Mead doesn’t seem to know much about Illinois’ budget crisis. The Republican governor does have plans for revitalizing Chicago and Illinois, the “turnaround agenda.” People have all kinds of opinions about it, but it exists.

    For those that are unaware, Illinois Democrats passed temporary income tax increases in 2011 that were said to be necessary to stabilize the budget. Personal income tax rates rose from 3% to 5%, and when they sunseted, reverted to 3.75%, and the extra revenue did not stabilize the budget, the fiscal situation has deteriorated. The Democratic governor ran for re-election seeking to make the temporary tax increase permanent and lost, and its not at all clear that there have ever been enough Democratic votes to increase income taxes. A lot of credibility was lost in that mess.

    The Republican Governor will support tax increases in exchange for some of his agenda being passed. I find the agenda items for the most part boring, pro-business stuff that can be found in other states, and the worst that can be said is that their effect would be modest. Traditionally in Illinois tax increases were bi-partisan and the minority party got something for their support.

    The complaint I have about Rauner is not policy, its the politics of calling out the Democratic legislative leaders and accusing them of corruption.

  • I would add to PD’s remarks that the Illinois constitution effectively prohibits a progressive income tax. 3% or even 5% sounds low but when you’re earning $20,000 a year, a 10% tax is the difference between eating and not eating.

    And it’s not as though Illinois’s tax increases go to paying for more services. They’re mostly devoted to paying for services that have already been delivered.

    My critique of Gov. Rauner’s “turnaround agenda” is that even if all of the provisions were adopted I don’t see it actually turning the state around. And his agenda items are really poison pill measures for Democrats. No non-suicidal Democratic politician will get behind them.

    Illinois needs solutions that don’t operate in geological time. “Lord, send a cure. The disease is already here!”

  • steve Link

    “Republicans’ preferred strategies tend to favor promoting economic growth. ”

    Fascinating. Your Republicans are different. Ours just want to cut programs for the poor and cut taxes for the wealthy, same as the national agenda. They also offer tax incentives to businesses, that increase the tax load on everyone else. What do yours want to do?

    Steve

  • it’s the intention. Whether it would be the effect is another question entirely.

    The Democrats’ intention is to increase benefits to help those in need.

    I don’t think that most Republicans set out to make the rich richer any more than I think that most Democrats set out to enrich themselves at public expense.

    If you’re actually interested (which I gather from your tone that you aren’t), Rauner’s turnaround agenda is here. I don’t think it would actually do much other than giving the governor a stronger hand against public employee unions and allowing Chicago to declare bankruptcy, neither of which would have an immediate effect, but he seems to believe otherwise.

    If you enacted every single provision in it, it still wouldn’t put the state or the City of Chicago on solid financial ground.

  • PD Shaw Link

    @Dave, I think one part of the agenda is largely intended to make Illinois more business-friendly (or give the appearance of such). This addresses the anxiety that raising taxes will drive businesses to other states.

    Another part of the agenda is political reform, with a lot of it being popular, but its mostly partisan.

    I think a good case is made for things that localize decision-making and responsibility. To me, giving local government the discretion to pay market rates for services and not prevailing wage seems an easy concession to make since I think most local government will keep prevailing wages, and it makes local government projects less expensive. What are the political implications if DuPage County opts out of prevailing wages?

  • PD Shaw Link

    There are far more cities than Chicago that might file for bankruptcy protection, but you have to imagine its a catchy re-election slogan: From the Governor who gave Illinois bankruptcy . . .

  • steve Link

    Lot of boilerplate and partisan wishes in there Dave, but some goo ideas also. Paying 300% more than Medicare for workers comp surgery is bizarre. Ours is complex, but payments seem to generally come in around Medicare rates. Tort reform is always good.

    Steve

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