* Texas Gov. Rick Perry was supposed to be in Chicago this week for his second job-poaching mission. He canceled due to a meeting with the President.

But his office also shopped around an op-ed, which claims in part…

In Texas, we rejected President Obama’s flawed demand to expand Medicaid because we know it’s a broken system that isn’t built to handle its existing caseload, let alone a massive crush of new people. We recognize the simple truth that expansion will undoubtedly lead to higher costs for states already struggling to meet mounting budgetary demands, and will crowd out other essential government functions.

Other states have rushed headfirst into expansion despite massive problems with their existing programs. In Illinois, for example, by the time expansion is complete, one out of every four Illinoisans will be dependent on Medicaid, which was only ever intended to serve as a safety net for those most in need. This makes it even more troubling that Illinois officials only recently realized that roughly 250,000 people had been receiving Medicaid services for which they did not qualify.

* Coincidentally, WalletHub has a new study on Obamacare and Medicaid expansion which looked at 44 of the 50 states. One of its results…

So Perry’s overheated rhetoric about Illinois Medicaid expansion is off-base.

* Then there’s this…

The study found that 24.81 percent of Texans have no insurance, the worst in the nation.

Heckuva job, Ricky boy.

* Gov. Quinn’s office sent this response to Crain’s before Perry canceled…

While we welcome Gov. Perry’s contributions to Illinois’ booming tourism and hope he plans to visit us soon, businesses here should be skeptical of his economic pitch. Compared with Texas, the Illinois workforce is much better paid and educated, healthier and better protected if injured on the job.

Texas’ record of late includes some of the nation’s worst outputs of air and water pollution accompanied by concern about the reliability of its power grid.

While Texas has no income tax, it must rely heavily on sales and property taxes that hit part of its population extremely hard.

After all that, the average tax burden for a business is fairly close in the two states.

Gov. Perry can sell the appeal of wide-open spaces. We think most Illinois businesses will remain convinced that our amenities such as transportation, education, workforce training and quality of life help them get the job done.

* But I really wish Quinn and Mayor Emanuel would watch this next video. It’s about a young woman who tried to set up an innovative little business in Chicago and was thwarted at every turn, so she headed south to Austin. The video is truly a must-watch. If the Illinois Policy Institute just focused on stuff like this and dropped the goofy histrionics, I’d be in their corner 100 percent…

Lots of background here.

Look, I get that Illinois Democratic politicians can’t stand Texas Republicans like Gov. Perry. But, we’re talking Austin here. It isn’t some right-wing bastion. Get with it, people.

       

102 Comments - OneMan - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:10 am: Let’s just save some time here…. But who is going to protect us from food poisoning? Don’t you know Texas’ regulatory environment is too loose and bad? Ignore their job growth record vs ours, it obviously has nothing to do with government in either location and anyway all of those new jobs in Texas are bad jobs… - William j Kelly - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:12 am: How can you blame him for not wanting to risk a visit to “RAHM’S MURDER CAPITAL?!” - Neglected stepchild - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:16 am: The Reality Distortion Field worked for Steve Jobs. It doesn’t work for Pat Quinn. - PublicServant - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:19 am: It would be nice to have a few details other than the “non-histrionic” ‘thwarted at every turn’ phrase. Also Rich. Can you ban this Kelly goof? He’s just using your blog, regardless of the thread’s point, to post his wacky rant theme for the day, regardless of its pertinence to the thread’s gist. The guy’s just doing free advertising for himself. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:23 am: ===It would be nice to have a few details=== Then click the link I provided. - lake county democrat - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:23 am: Keep Austin Weird! (A saying there…) Last night newstalkies were on Perry for a different comment - implying that the Central American kids at the border crisis was a conspiracy of the Obama administration. - OneMan - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:24 am: Awww come on PublicServant they just updated KellyBot 2.0 with a new set of Rahm complaints… - Leroy - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:27 am: Two sections of CapFax I DREAD going into: 1. Cubs/Sox/Cardinals threads 2. Texas vs Illinois threads. These threads really bring out the CapFax meatheads. - train111 - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:27 am: Geez, in 2012 it took until he was in a few debates befor Rick Perry’s mouth sank his presidential ambitions. This time around his big mouth is going to sink him before he even gets started. It’s pretty darned entertaining to watch however. - Arizona Bob - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:27 am: Rich, it’s misleading to only list “new enrolees” for Medicaid under Obamacare as a reasonable comparison. IIRC, BEFORE Obamacare Illinois had one of the highest threshholds for Medicaid eligibility in the nation, up to 200% of the poverty level with “All Kids” as I remember. When your already have sky high elibility in Medicaid, OF COURSE you’re going to have lower numbers of new enrollees. Regarding the 28.4% of Texans who apparently are uninsured, I think this metric idenitifies the true distinction bewteen “health care” and “health insurance”. Texas has a lot of young people there, and I suspect that they’re “self insuring” and pay out of pocket for health care when they need it. That makes for much more prudent use of health care resources than those who abuse “free” health care. It would alos be interesting to see how many of those uninsured are illegals and their families who are “underground” and working off the books. When they need serious health care, they may well go south of the border to get it where it’s much cheaper. BTW, a new practice in Texas, Arizona and California is to have dental work done in Mexico because they have many good dentists there and costs are a fraction of what they are in the US. I wouldn’t want to take the chance, but I have friends who’ve made the trek with pretty good results. Are Texans less healthy than Illinoisans because of the health insurance situation? I don’t know, but they certainly need far less gun shot treatment than in cultually dysfunctional parts of Chicago….. - Steve - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:28 am: Zero percent state income vs. 5%. Bigger houses , lower prices. But, we have Mike Madigan! - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:28 am: Rick Perry is a smart guy. He wears glasses. Just the other day, he offered up a fascinating monologue on “genetics,” and how being gay is just like being an alcoholic. You know, being afflicted with a disease. Then, there was the startling insight that Obama “is in on it,” “it” being the child refugee crisis on the south border. See, the administration can be completely incompetent on one hand, yet on the other, secretly engineer a massive exodus of children from Central America through Mexico in order to…. because… to accomplish…. I didn’t really understand it. But then, I don’t wear glasses. - southern girl - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:29 am: This video is probably one of the best I have seen in regards to “red tape” and small business. It is relatable and has more of an impact than a Jimmy John’s CEO screaming about not wanting to pay any taxes. This girl thinks she has a viable business plan and is begging to be in business in Chicago. It doesn’t come across as a partisan attack with a stretched out story. When elected officials talk about business owners, they talk over small business owners and focus on the big guys. - OneMan - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:30 am: Also this great video about Food Trucks in Chicago done Game Of Thrones Style http://www.ij.org/chicago-food-trucks-release-6-13-13 - Angry Republican - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:30 am: health insurance does not equal health care. Being on Medicaid doesn’t do any good if doctors won’t take you as a patient because the reimbursement rate is so low. - Brass - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:31 am: If you look at two areas thriving for entrepreneurs, Silicon Valley and Austin, you see that people don’t need the government’s permission to pursue their dream. In Chicago, everything depends on who you know. Texas is taking advantage of California’s old habits of over-regulation, unions and high costs but we live in an era where thanks to technology people can get up and move. They don’t need to stay in a place that doesn’t work. The girl in the video is part of much wider trend. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:33 am: AR, so, um, we should be spending more money on Medicaid? - Judgment Day (on the road) - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:36 am: “It would be nice to have a few details other than the “non-histrionic” ‘thwarted at every turn’ phrase.” ———————- Ok, this is an on-going fight, and as usual, the established food interests are fights a vicious, no holds barred battle against the newcomers. A few links to explain: http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=28669 http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=32832 http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=20206 http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=27145 Does all of the above give you some idea of what it is like to have to deal with the City of Chicago. Just imagine all of the entrepreneurial energy that got wasted having to deal with bureaucratic intransigence. It’s really bad. No wonder she moved to Austin, TX. - Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:37 am: “In Texas, we rejected President Obama’s flawed demand to expand Medicaid because we know it’s a broken system that isn’t built to handle its existing caseload, let alone a massive crush of new people.” That’s right, Gov. Perry. Keep denying poor people health insurance. You and others like you share responsiblility for the poor who suffer because they have no insurance. Tell that to your followers at the next “Jesuspalooza.” In Texas, the GOP is supporting the teaching of creationism and reparative therapy for gay people. That’s far more important than finding a way to help poor people get insurance. Before Obamacare, we were perhaps the only wealthy country in the world that didn’t offer any form of expanded or universal health insurance. We still have the highest healthcare costs, and millions without insurance. What is the Republican plan for dealing with this crisis, and where is it? Obama at least is trying to fix that. Obamacare is what others have called a “Rube Goldberg Contraption,” overly complicated. It could have been done simpler with a government option like Medicare for all. Even still, we’re in America, and Obamacare used conservative, American principles. You pay more if you want a better plan, and you pay the private sector insurance companies. The Individual Mandate was created by conservatives, perhaps to be used in a much smaller scale, but it was still an alternative to a government option. Imagine how conservatives’ heads would be exploding if we enacted purely government-issued insurance? - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:37 am: –When elected officials talk about business owners, they talk over small business owners and focus on the big guys.– Very true. Who are the small-business advocates in Illinois? I’m at a loss. The Big Dogs — the Civvies, CME, Sears, ComEd, et. al — can beat the system and the taxpayers like a rented mule. The small guys pay the freight. - William j Kelly - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:38 am: Public servant, do you really believe in banning people who don’t support everything Rahm says and does without question? Because if you do you could have a great career in Chicago tv and radio! - Brass - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:38 am: I find ironic that Chicago’s so-called tech leaders must bend over for politicians. Groupon CEO (not Mason) is pouring money into Quinn’s pocket and Rahm’s new PAC to scare off challengers. Silicon Valley thrives by ignoring politicians but here nothing can succeed unless you kiss their rings (preferably with a contribution) and get their blessing. Chicago and Illinois have talented people who’s potential is limited thanks to the political system we have. - Knome Sane - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:44 am: @Coffee Cup: =The other big “plus” is that in Austin she is less likely to get shot and robbed than in Rahm’s Chicago “shooting gallery”. Unless this young lady has a “concealed carry” permit and is packing a pocket pistol, I would be hesitant to be riding a bike and carrying any cash on me in 80% of the Chicago neighborhoods.= Your post is complete bullshot. 80% of Chicago neighborhoods are dangerous? Stay in Winnetka then, you wuss. Does Chicago have a gang problem, yes it does. But it also had a gang problem in 1920s and 30s. But that was a different time and gangsters were of a different color. And regarding your deep thoughts on “bus(ing) up to Detroit those 90,000 illegal immigrants that are piling up at the United States southern borders.” Rex Huppke had an interesting take in his column in the Trib yesterday: “What those protesters fail to understand is that these immigrants are being processed per the laws of the land. Most of them come from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and the unaccompanied children are protected under the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush. While Mexican immigrants who enter the country illegally can be swiftly deported, the 2008 law says minors from Central America have to be detained and given a chance to appear before a judge.” Your racist and fear-mongering taunts really have no place in a political blog. Especially when you make “stuff” out of whole cloth or parrot what you hear on Fox News. - Angry Chicagoan - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:44 am: If you’re not a big business in Illinois, you’re a nobody. That attitude has to change. - numbers - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:46 am: Over all it looks like post ACA has brought about 3% of the uninsured into the market. That is just over 1 million people out of the 40 million uninsured previously touted. I thought the ACA was supposed to solve the uninsured problem. Seems like it barely made a dent. - Knome Sane - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:53 am: @Public Servant I think Rich keeps William j. Kelly around for comic relief, ala Lar Daly or fellow 19th Ward perennial candidate, Ray “Spanky the Clown” Wardingly! - John A Logan - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 9:53 am: Texas lead the nation in job growth at all pay levels between 2000 and 2013 Yeah, “Rickey Boy” is going a heckuva job. It is stunning to watch normally rational people continue to act as if Illinois is a sports team to be cheered for. The Illinois political class are like Cubs fans, they still show up at the game (polls) and support the same failing organization year after year. - Obamas Puppy - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:00 am: Come on Rich now you are in to advising the IPI? How about highlighting why right to work and trickle down economics for self serving billionaires is such a sham. - OldSmoky2 - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:06 am: There are some 14,000 restaurants in Chicago. They have lobbied furiously against food trucks and any other types of mobile competition such as the coffee carts in this case, arguing that they’ve invested a lot of money and hard work in their buildings, equipment and employees. They say it’s unfair competition if a mobile cart can just pull up on the sidewalk, with nowhere near their investment, and poach their customers. I’m not saying I totally agree with their argument. I’d really like to see more flexibility and more options for food trucks. I think they can be a great alternative. But I do understand where the restaurant owners are coming from, and I also understand why aldermen would pay attention to 14,000 small business owners who are neighborhood anchors, voters, and constituents. How would you feel if you and your family spent years investing your sweat and money in a hamburger shop and the city let some guy come set up a grill on the sidewalk outside your front door and start underselling you? I imagine you’d be exercising your right to lobby your alderman and mayor, too. - Steve - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:07 am: Check out Professor Mark Perry’s take on U-Haul rates from Chicago to Houston. http://www.aei-ideas.org/2014/07/leaving-illionois-for-texas-evidence-from-u-haul-and-budget-for-one-way-rental-rates-between-chicago-to-houston/ - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:16 am: Brass, Austin has a lot going for it, but lack of government ain’t one of them. Those UT and state capital payrolls are pretty sweet. Texas has a lot going for it, but lack of federal government ain’t one of them. Sam Rayburn, LBJ, Jim Wright, Lloyd Bentsen, John Tower and others saw to that over the years. Those federales payrolls at the military installations, NASA and defense plants that saw the wisdom of pleasing Texas Congressional clout are pretty sweet. Texas does have a lot of oil, and Texans certainly were innovators in technology that led to the current energy boom. But if you want to drill for oil in Texas, you’ll deal with an elected (yes, politicians) state regulatory body called the Railroad Commission of Texas. They’ll tell you if you can drill for oil, where you can, how much you can take out of the ground and how much you can transport. Every day. Speaking of the energy boom, isn’t it glorious now that we have so much “American” oil that gasoline prices have plummeted and we no longer have to be involved in the Middle East? Yes sir, “American” refineries are net exporters of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, and “America” is set to become the world’s largest oil producer. All those promises of “Drill, Baby, Drill” are coming true. Energy independence. Low prices. No more foreign entanglements. - Chi - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:17 am: =Texas lead the nation in job growth at all pay levels between 2000 and 2013 Yeah, “Rickey Boy” is going a heckuva job.= Please, a little context. Saudi Arabia is a rich place too, but I don’t think it’s because of the business climate for small entrepeneurs. Texas produces as much oil as Iraq, which produces more oil than any country in OPEC save for Saudi Arabia. http://www.ibtimes.com/texas-now-producing-much-oil-iraq-1616920 - Anonymous - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:18 am: == They say it’s unfair competition if a mobile cart can just pull up on the sidewalk, with nowhere near their investment, and poach their customers. == I never really understood the full logic of this argument. If these restaurants are that worried about someone setting up in front of their restaurant, what’s stopping them from beating them to the punch and putting their own out there? - Jimbo - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:21 am: Texas’ uninsured rate is worse than that rank would lead you to believe. The states ranked lower have no percentages reported yet. So of all of the states with numbers, Texas is the worst. Wow, heck of a job there Ricky - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:22 am: ===How would you feel if you and your family spent years investing your sweat and money in a hamburger shop and the city let some guy come set up a grill on the sidewalk outside your front door and start underselling you?=== I totally understand that, but substitute “horse carts” and “automobiles” or “land line phone store” and “mobile phone store” and ad infinitum and you see why I don’t think the government should be in this sort of protection racket. - Chi - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:25 am: =what’s stopping them from beating them to the punch and putting their own out there?= They’d be competing against themselves. This is a huge issue for our nation’s economy going forward. Not just Chicago’s. Look at many/most of the successful new sectors and businesses; Amazon, Uber, Food carts, etc. They are thriving because they have found a way to operate outside of the regulations that other similar businesses must follow. Amazon avoids sales tax, Uber avoids taxi medallions, Food trucks avoid property taxes, etc. “Disrupting” an industry often means finding ways to avoid the rules that apply to everyone else. I’m not saying that’s always bad either. But until the older businesses (and/or the governments where they operate) can adjust, we are going to have this inherent advantage for companies that learn to skate the rules. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:26 am: Smoky, it’s not just restaurant owners who are down on the food trucks in Chicago. Downtown, especially, it’s building owners. They lease to restaurants and don’t want to see anyone setting up shop on the street, paying them nothing. Nothing personal. Just business. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:26 am: Most restaurants I see in the city are located next to or near…other restaurants. It’s called competition. Make a better burger, people will come to you instead of them. - OneMan - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:28 am: == They say it’s unfair competition if a mobile cart can just pull up on the sidewalk, with nowhere near their investment, and poach their customers. == Insert most eCommerce here as it were. If I am getting something from a burrito cart it is because I would rather have a burrito and it’s convenient. It isn’t because it costs less than McDs - downstate hack - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:31 am: Rick Perry may be an idiot, but the fact remains Texas is booming and Illinois remains in an economic morass. - Gantt Chart - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:35 am: Hmmm…looks like “Coffee’s” comment got scrubbed from the blog, but a rebuttal response got to stay. …might have been interesting to see what set off the responder. - Regnad Kcin - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:38 am: ===How would you feel if you and your family spent years investing your sweat and money in a hamburger shop and the city let some guy come set up a grill on the sidewalk outside your front door and start underselling you?=== Rich made a good point. How different is that from Amazon not collecting sales tax but the Ace Hardware down the street is forced to collect sales tax? - RonOglesby - Now in TX - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:42 am: This line is interesting: “While Texas has no income tax, it must rely heavily on sales and property taxes that hit part of its population extremely hard” Actually my sales tax is .25% LESS than I paid in Illinois, my property tax is about the same dollar amount for larger house and more land, and I just filled my tank on $3.38 a gallon gas yesterday. Listening to Illinois pols act like nothing can possibly go right in Texas is seriously funny. - Judgment Day (on the road) - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:42 am: ” How would you feel if you and your family spent years investing your sweat and money in a hamburger shop and the city let some guy come set up a grill on the sidewalk outside your front door and start underselling you? I imagine you’d be exercising your right to lobby your alderman and mayor, too.” ————————- You are ignoring the benefits of competition for all the rest of us - consumers. And if you want to see competition in the marketplace for food and innovation at it’s best, look at some of those links I posted. You’ve got food trucks trying to deal with the issue of soggy bread/buns. They get feedback from their customers, and guess what, they are coming up and looking at different alternatives. Where do you think the concept of building “To Go” apps came from, where people are texting their orders into their preferred mobile food truck and giving a whole new meaning to a ‘to go’ order. There’s some seriously innovative thinking going on out there. Why do you think the University of Illinois - Urbana/Champaign just got their first food truck for campus. Those folks got some big plans for using that food truck (probably the first of several). The City of Chicago is really, really backwards on this stuff. “Glacial” comes to mind. - VanillaMan - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:42 am: It is absolutely inexcusable that we are being visited here in Illinois, by a gentleman holding elected office - playing politics! Why I haven’t seen political behavior in Illinois before! Folks in Chicago have never even really seen a Republican governor in over a decade, so of course voters here are going to swoon from the Red State vapors. Every time Perry and his nerd glasses shows up in a Democratic stronghold, liberals flop and drop all over the place. Poor sweeties! It has been so long since they seen a GOP gadfly they don’t even recognize one when they see it! He is running for president. This is what they do. After Obama, the next person has to reflect a completely different style, just as Obama reflected a completely different style from the president before him. And Bush was different from Clinton. And Clinton was different from old man Bush. et cetera, et cetera! - OldSmoky2 - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:43 am: ==I totally understand that, but substitute “horse carts” and “automobiles” or “land line phone store” and “mobile phone store” and ad infinitum and you see why I don’t think the government should be in this sort of protection racket.== I get what you’re saying, Rich. As I said, I’d personally like to see more flexibility by the city. I like the food trucks. I was just pointing out the politics. It’s not an anti-business mindset in Chicago that’s led to this situation. It’s a “do I pay attention to a handful of new potential small business owners or do I pay more attention to 14,000 small business owners who’ve been in my community for years” question for the aldermen and mayor. Given that, I just think it’ll take time to open up a little more. - Confused - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:44 am: There are well known elected legislators in Illinois who have set a goal of 100% of Illinoisans being enrolled in Medicaid. Feature, not bug. - Judgment Day (on the road) - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:49 am: ““Disrupting” an industry often means finding ways to avoid the rules that apply to everyone else. I’m not saying that’s always bad either. But until the older businesses (and/or the governments where they operate) can adjust, we are going to have this inherent advantage for companies that learn to skate the rules.” ————————- You call it ’skating the rules’. But in way too many cases, the rules are really, really stupid. I can give you example after example of local and state government processes that have been in place forever, and there’s just no logic to it these days. - 100 Miles West - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 10:53 am: Brass, Nooo, those tech guys don’t worry about politicians at all, take a look at this http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/10/23/silicon-valleys-top-2013-dc.html?page=all - ChrisB - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:00 am: Now that the scourge of Food Trucks has been nerfed, where ever will I go to get lunch in the Loop? Should I go to the Chipotle across the street, or the one on the other side of the river? God forbid I have to walk more than 3 blocks for Roti. Hell, there are multiple Starbucks within 200 feet of each other. I know, let’s meet at the Jersey Mike’s on Wells. Not that one, the other one. Face it, Mom and Pop places in the Loop are virtually nonexistent. Without food trucks, your choice is supporting one corporate chain over another. Given the option, I’ll 100% support the small business owner, no matter how they get the food to me. As for the brick and mortar non-chains, they regularly have lines out the door. They are hardly hurting for business. - Brass - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:13 am: The fastest way to success in Illinois is not based upon what you do, how great your idea is or how smart you are. It’s based upon who you know, how to get plugged into the system and make sure the power brokers like you if you want to thrive. Until recently, the political powers could get away with this but now the state is in such a fiscal mess, taxpayers are open to other options. As taxpayers flee, those who stay will be left with a bigger bill. Texas may not be perfect but it isn’t a mess like Illinois. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:15 am: Let’s not stop with the food trucks, these restaurants that “deliver” without customers having to even leave there house are unfair to those restaurants that choose not to deliver! Delivery should be outlawed! - Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:15 am: We had a food truck that came to work for a day or two, during the lunch period. We bought lunch right outside of the work door. How convenient is that? The driver said he couldn’t come back because of a regulation that prohibits food trucks from selling in the area. There isn’t much competition in the area. If what the driver said is true, I agree, that type of regulation should be eliminated. - Johnny Utah - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:15 am: Since Pat Quinn took office: Employment Illinois -8,862 Texas +1,240,000 Private sector jobs: Illinois +23,700 Texas +977,000 That’s what you call checkmate. - Jimbo - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:18 am: Confused, you are confused. No one wants medicaid for all. There are people who want single payer and explain it as Medicare for all, but that is different. If you don’t understand the difference, I can’t help you, but sufficed to say, Medicare is fantastic insurance. Medicaid is crap and is intended to be a last resort worst case scenario. The Medicare for all folks don’t necessarily want to give it away for free to folks under 65, there would be premiums, but there would be 2% overhead instead of 15-20% as with private insurance. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:18 am: –The fastest way to success in Illinois is not based upon what you do, how great your idea is or how smart you are. It’s based upon who you know, how to get plugged into the system and make sure the power brokers like you if you want to thrive. – For crying out loud, someone’s got their victim on today. State government is that important, is it? There are countless highly successful people out there who barely know Illinois government exists. It doesn’t touch their lives. You know the Chicago metro has the fourth largest GDP in the world, right? Illinois is fifth out of the 50 states? Is that because of state government, since it’s so important in all things? - Upon Further Review - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:19 am: The video was a strong message. Chicago has numerous unlicensed businesses, in part, because the red tape is too burdensome. The City Hall bureaucracy is too byzantine. My guess is that Rahm was in Austin for the South by Southwest conference. - Johnny Utah - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:20 am: Wordslinger: Successful people don’t feel the touch of government? Maybe that’s true once they’re big enough. But how about this one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O9cJMO4B18 - Jimbo - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:25 am: Johnny Utah, do you see anything interesting in those numbers, like perhaps how big government Illinois layed off 32,000 public sector jobs and small government conservative Texas hired 263,000 government workers? Wow. Those numbers really do show something. If IL hired as many government workers as Texas, we’d have gained 295,000 jobs. - RonOglesby - Now in TX - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:33 am: @Jimbo Hiring more state and local workers to keep pace with the 1000+ per day moving into texas and the $$$ flowing in is different than hiring 200K+ gov workers with no corresponding growth in state GDP, Population or tax revenue. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:34 am: Johnny Yuma, that one video does it. Case closed. My point is that some think state government is the determining factor in a global economy. If that’s the case, then I guess the good-government types Illinois is known for historically are the reason for our large and diverse economy. And let’s give a round of applause for Blago, Emil Jones, MJM and Daley, who were the reasons for the booming economy until 2008. - Anyone Remember - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:35 am: Johnny Utah - So, if I do the arithmetic correctly, since Quinn became Governor of Illinois, Texas has added 263 thousand government jobs? Roughly 1 in 6 new Texas jobs was a government job. In contrast, Illinois lost 32 thousand government jobs. - Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:38 am: Other states beside Texas have low unemployment rates PLUS higher or comparable average incomes, more people earning at or above the minimum wage, more people having health insurance and more insurance available, more tolerant social policy, etc. Using one metric (jobs) to make a point is not good enough. It’s the whole enchilada. Plus, why isn’t Texas’ economic success replicated in other low-tax, right to work states? Because Texas has oil, defense and aerospace, among other industries. Get rid of those and you may have just another poor southern state. - a drop in - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:41 am: Rahm keeps promising to cut the red tape for business startup. Why doesn’t someone hold his feet to the fire on that? - Norseman - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:44 am: === But who is going to protect us from food poisoning? === This is a little beneath you isn’t it OneMan. You know the battle over the mobiles is about competition. Even if it wasn’t, do you really want to eliminate food safety regulation? - walker - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:51 am: Johnny Utah, Arizona Bob, now Ron Oglesby in Texas? Keep coming back. We love to hear from you. - OneMan - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:52 am: == This is a little beneath you isn’t it OneMan. You know the battle over the mobiles is about competition. Even if it wasn’t, do you really want to eliminate food safety regulation? == Norseman…. Just bringing up all the arguments that came up last time this came up here as well as all of the standard things people say about Texas when they come up. Guess I failed at the snark this time. - A guy... - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 11:53 am: Here’s a pleasant dream; an Illinois Governor going around the country poaching jobs for Illinois because the economy is humming at 78 rpm. I sympathize with the young lady in the video. Getting started in a legit way in Chicago is a horrific experience. Sad to say, her first visit should have been the Alderman’s office. Still outrageously expensive and unreasonable, but cuts the time in half. Even then it’s months. Ugh. - PublicServant - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 12:06 pm: Thanks Judgement Day for the links, and sorry Rich. Reading is fundamental. So, it looks like three issues (regulations) for mobile food vendors. (1) No food prep allowed on the truck. Presumably for health reasons, but likely as Judgement Day says, due to the anti-competitive efforts of the fixed RE restaurant owners, and their lobbying. I see no reason that mobile trucks can’t be inspected just as fixed restaurants are, if health is really the concern here. (2) Parking. High volume traffic effects(both pedestrian and vehicular) is a legitimate issue in many areas of the city. That needs to be regulated. The city has a legit concern here, as do people who don’t want to be held up by lines on already crowded sidewalks, and drivers looking to park their car for a limited amount of time in order to patronize local businesses. Having said that, the city ought to be able to accommodate a reasonable number of spots. (3) Competition. Yeah, but restaurant owners are ultimately backing a loser here. They can compete too. If you can’t beat them, join them. Not in front of your own business, but put your cart in another neighborhood. - Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 12:15 pm: Quinn has a valid point concerning the appeal of our workforce. The trick, as demonstrated by the Brewhub story, is keeping future waves of those well educated workers and entrepreneurs here. We have so many benefits to offer, yet somehow still wind up pushing away some of those talented workers and entrepreneurs who deeply want to be here. - walker - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 12:18 pm: Perry is a corker. He has said (from my recollection): “Texas is a Republic, so we have Texas Consulates in foreign countries to develop business and trade, just like the United States.” Well, whatever works for him. He does spend a lot of time going after businesses. They are doing well in that arena. - Angry Republican - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 12:23 pm: “AR, so, um, we should be spending more money on Medicaid?” Yes. Did you forget about the results of the Oregon Medicaid study already (no significant improvement in measured physical health outcomes)? It would be much less expensive to give direct cash payments to the uninsured and let them decide how to utilize the money. The Economist also thinks IL isn’t a great state for small businesses either: http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21606293-small-businesses-fret-less-about-taxes-over-regulation-red-tape-blues - Ghost of John Brown - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 12:26 pm: I can echo what the lady in the video said. It’s not just the City, it’s the whole State. Five years ago I was with a start up consulting business. We spent 11 months trying to get our various licenses. Resubmissions. “Oh, you need to get this”. “Well, resubmit to Agency A because the language in their submission has to match ours”. Interviews. Fees. More paperwork. After 11 months, we gave up. Delays = Money. Delays & Money = Bankruptcy. If you want a thriving business economy, you have to let business actually do….business. We weren’t selling toxic sludge or peddling used nuclear rods. It was a simple consulting business. - Steve - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 12:27 pm: The big question is when will Illinois recover from its’ job losses. To quote Rick Perry in his Chicago Tribune editorial: Illinois raised taxes. Today you can see how those decisions have played out. Texas was able to restore in 2013 what was trimmed in 2011, provide major tax cuts to employers, and still have money left on the table. Our rainy day fund is projected to hold roughly $8 billion, even after deductions to fund water projects and beef up our transportation infrastructure. Illinois still has a budget that’s far from balanced, with billions in unpaid bills. It’s uncertain how the courts will rule on one of the worst-funded state pension systems in the nation. The Illinois legislature was wise enough this year to turn away appeals to extend the 2011 tax hike, but it still hasn’t made the tough decisions necessary to bring spending under control. There are very real consequences of each state’s actions. In 2014, Texas attracted Toyota’s world headquarters from a blue state, California. There’s more: Most important, by December of 2011, Texas had replaced all the jobs it lost during the recession. As of May, we had 880,000 more jobs than we had at the peak level before the downturn. Illinois still needs to add 190,000 jobs just to reach the level it had in 2008. Jobs really are the most important part of any equation involving government. Quality jobs are the foundation of strong communities; and strong communities are at the core of strong states. Over the past decade, Texas has added more than 2 million jobs. During that span, Illinois has lost 7,000. Texas grew jobs at a rate of 3.4 percent over the past year — fastest among the biggest states. Illinois’ rate of job growth was just .3 percent — slowest among the biggest states. - Ghost of John Brown - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 12:30 pm: AR - Thanks for the economist link. Good information. - Anyone Remember - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 12:30 pm: Perhaps when Abner Mikva was told “We don’t want nobody nobody sent” he, and the rest of us, missed that it also applies to small business owners? - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 12:34 pm: –Our rainy day fund is projected to hold roughly $8 billion,– So how’s about you pay the freight next time it starts raining blowed-up fertilizer plants on your residents, instead of pushing the cost of your neglect on the nation’s taxpayers? Or put out your own wildfires? - Johnny Utah - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 12:43 pm: Jimbo, Anyone Remember, et al You’re looking at the results of two different surveys. Let’s take overall employment out. I’ll breakdown jobs, private vs public since Quinn was elected– Texas Private: +977,000 private sector jobs Public: +34,900 government jobs Net: + 1,011,900 Illinois Private: +23,700 private sector jobs Public: -23,300 government jobs Net: +400 jobs As I said. Check. Mate. - VM - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 12:46 pm: @numbers (9:46 am): You’re doing the math wrong. It’s not a 3% decrease from the 40 million uninsured, it’s 3% from the total population of about 330 million. It’s 9-10 million newly insured people, just in the first year. - walker - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 1:05 pm: I founded two small businesses in Cook Co Illinois. One took about three weeks after my materials were ready, the other about six (mostly due to real estate issues.) This was some years ago now. Roughly the same as in two other states. Has the Illinois state government administration changed that much in the past twenty years? (Is it because it’s actually smaller in terms of people?) - Chi - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 1:35 pm: Oil. Eagle Ford Shale. Petroleum refineries. Everything written about Texas’ economy needs to discuss those things first and last. - Where'd my friends go? - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 1:49 pm: In regards to Quinn’s response and multiple people in this thread who have said that the jobs in Texas are bad jobs, underpaid, and the workers are uneducated. … I’m a recent college grad currently in graduate school, and my colleagues that flocked to Chicago for work after graduation have had to start paying on their student loans. The people that were lucky enough to find jobs cannot afford to live in or near the city. So now they are migrating to Texas (mostly Austin) where jobs are plentiful, they see more of their paycheck, and cost of living is cheaper. Illinois is doing nothing to keep the people who are going to be paying the bills for the next 30 years here, and that is more of an issue than Illinois bragging that we have more people on Medicaid since no one will be left in Illinois to pay it. - Chi - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 1:56 pm: =The people that were lucky enough to find jobs cannot afford to live in or near the city.= Well that’s obviously inaccurate. Or your friends had the worst jobs in the world and never heard of craigslist. - Anyone Remember - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 2:03 pm: Johnny Utah - When I compare the numbers in your second post with the first one, I come up with 228,100 new Texas jobs in the not-for-profit sector. Is that correct? - Anyone Remember - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 2:06 pm: Interesting tidbit from today’s Post Dispatch. http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/economist-incentive-packages-for-businesses-may-do-more-harm-than/article_eaf94215-475d-55bf-ae15-955f39eebdd5.html - Johnny Utah - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 2:06 pm: Chi: Let’s do just that. Texas jobs in mining and logging have increased by 82,600 since Quinn took office. Now that energy is accounted for, let’s tackle the other 900,000 jobs, shall we? - Johnny Utah - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 2:11 pm: Anyone Remember, There are two totally separate surveys. One is employment. For that survey, they call households and ask about the employment status of those living there. On that survey, Texas is +1.24 million, Illinois -9,000. A totally separate survey is conducted for “payrolls jobs”. For this survey they ask established employers about hiring and layoffs. That’s where you get: Texas Private: +977,000 private sector jobs Public: +34,900 government jobs Net: + 1,011,900 Illinois Private: +23,700 private sector jobs Public: -23,300 government jobs Net: +400 jobs Those are two different surveys conducted by BLS that generally track each other over time, each with its strengths and weaknesses. In BLS terms, “jobs” is not the same as “employment”. - Where'd my friends go? - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 2:30 pm: Chi To live in a decent neighborhood in a 450 sq foot apartment it is extremely difficult to find a place where you can keep all of your bills under $1000/month. Add in a $500 student loan payment and you are spending $18,000/year before you feed yourself or splurge on cable and internet. Most people fresh out with no experience have trouble finding that $50k/year job within 6 months of graduation, but they can live on less in Austin- a city full of companies willing to pay good money for college grads, you can rent a 3 bedroom apartment for the price of a 1 bedroom here, and you might even have some money to feed yourself or get internet. - CapnCrunch - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 2:53 pm: “downstate hack” @10:31 and “RonOglesby” @ 10:42 am seem to have succinctly eviscerated a lot of the nonsense being posted on the Texas vs Illinois subject. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 2:53 pm: JU, is there some dispute that the energy boom is the most dynamic force in the economy right now and is the main driver in high-growth areas such as Texas, Utah and North Dakota? You think people are flocking to North Dakota for public policy reasons? Why would you give politicians credit for that? What did they have to do with it? You have a lot more faith in them than I do. If you want to credit anyone, give it to George Mitchell, the guy who advanced fracking tech and made it pay off in a big way. In oil-rich states, all the politicians do is regulate the heck out of oil production, telling you how much you can take out of the ground every day. In the 20s, the governor of Texas sent in the militia to shut down producers in the East Fields who were exceeding their prorations (now that’s some state regulation). States can get away with it because back in 1932 the Supremes bought the argument that it was necessary for environmental and intra-state transportation reasons (it’s really a dodge to regulate price, and it worked pretty well until the OPEC countries figured out they could act as a cartel as well). But the energy boom is creating a lot more jobs than just in the oil fields, as those workers eat, buy cars, buy houses, raise families, etc. Rick Perry and other politicians had nothing to do with it. But they’ll take the credit for it, as any politician would. - Rarely Posts - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 2:58 pm: Rich: I wish Illinois politicians had a clue about how their policies affect businesses like this. I think you posted something a few weeks ago about how the startup time in Illinois for services businesses is many multiples of what it is even in other states like New York, where you would expect very heavy regulation. The results of these failed policies are so easy to see. Alderman Michele Smith in Chicago blames landlords for not renting out their storefronts, as if they willingly choose to forego rents rather than make money renting. She apparently does not see how the climate chokes off even the most innocuous businesses. The food carts are another example. They are EVERYWHERE in Washington DC and Portland, but we cannot have them here because Ald Tunney does not want competition for his restaurant. Give him points for candor, I guess. Talk to the food truck operators here and they will tell you that it is nearly impossible to make a profit because of the restrictions forced upon them; not health and safety mind you, but purely anti-competitive such as not locating within 200 feet of a restaurant. I would even question whether a take-way food from a truck is even competing with a sit-down restaurant. But that is for the market to decide, not the City Council. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 3:07 pm: Wordslinger: Let’s round up the 82,600 energy jobs in Texas to, say, 250,000. How do we account for the other 750,000? Either you’re you’re wrong, and all the academic research and practical experience about the effect of taxation and regulation on state performance is right. Or you’re right, and state policy has nothing to do with anything. I’m going to go with you’re wrong. Texas politicians have done well in creating simple rules and staying the hell out of the way in terms of taxation and regulation. That has effects. We are currently seeing those effects. At the end of the day, Perry is taking care of Illinois’ unemployment problem, because Illinoisans are moving down there. - Sue - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 3:09 pm: what planet are you all on- Any objective person looking at Texas’ economic performance since the bottom of the recession compared to Illinois’ performance on jobs, income, housing prices and deficits would think Illinois would be better situated as a third world nation as opposed to one of the 50 states - Illinois has the most folks who would leave as a percentage of the population than any other state for good reason- we are in horrible shape and as the WSJ editorial opined today- last week’s Supreme Court decision just makes the hole that much deeper- I don’t like Gov Perry all that much but the facts are a stubborn thing and he has the facts on his side - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 3:32 pm: –Texas politicians have done well in creating simple rules and staying the hell out of the way in terms of taxation and regulation.– LOL, elected Texas politicians on the Railroad Commission regulate the oil and gas industry every step of the way. They tell you how much you can produce, where and when. Then, they tax it. - Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 3:32 pm: Texas has the highest percentage of people without health insurance and is near the bottom in people working at or below the minimum wage. That should temper anyone’s boasting. Those are not proud stats either. Who are doing pretty well under Obamacare? Kentucky and West Virginia. Both states expanded Medicaid and have seen their numbers of uninsured drop significantly. There are now lower numbers of poor people in those two states without health insurance. Many of those are white conservatives. Good. I’m proud of that. That’s exactly what I was hoping for, and I hope their numbers of uninsured drop even more in the future, as well as ours. Say it with me, y’all: Thank you, President Obama. - Johnny Utah - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 3:39 pm: Wordslinger: Ok, let’s Get past energy. Let’s triple the number of jobs created in energy and account for the other 750,000 in Texas vs 23,000 in Illinois. Ball’s in your court. Go. - Go Paul! - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 3:39 pm: Facts are tricky things: Illinois median family income: $66,507; Texas median family income $56,606. Illinois poverty rate: 11.5%; Texas poverty rate: 16.2. Violent crime rates? Texas ranks 3rd in the nation while Illinois ranks 5th. All of this data is likely lost on Perry and his fellow Texans as Texas is the National Center for Education Statistics estimate that nearly 22% of their adult population is functionally illiterate (by comparison, 10% of Illinois population is so classified). - Dale - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 3:43 pm: I find it remarkable that Mr. Perry who has said that he is worthy of being President of the United STATES of America has been so brazen in his on-going efforts to poach businesses and jobs from a state that is part of America’s heartland. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 3:49 pm: JU, I have no idea what numbers you’re talking about. You throw a lot of them out there without any citations. But if you choose to believe that the wisdom of Rick Perry is the driver of Texas job growth, rather than innovators in private industry, well, that’s just the way you look at the world. - Johnny Utah - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 6:25 pm: wordslinger- Here is the “household employment” survey. Click on search, type “LAU”, hit enter, choose the state you want to see, and choose dates: http://www.bls.gov/ Here is the business establishment survey. Choose “seasonally adjusted”, 01 All Employees…, 17 Illinois and 48 Texas, Statewide, 05 Total Private, 05 Total Private, Retrieve Data - Johnny Utah - Wednesday, Jul 9, 14 @ 6:27 pm: http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/dsrv?sm - Arizona Bob - Thursday, Jul 10, 14 @ 7:46 am: @ Go paul =All of this data is likely lost on Perry and his fellow Texans as Texas is the National Center for Education Statistics estimate that nearly 22% of their adult population is functionally illiterate (by comparison, 10% of Illinois population is so classified). = And apparently what was lost on you, probably in an effort to deceive, is that the NCEES NAEP scores show that despite having substantially more low income students than Illinois, Texas 8th graders outscore Illinois students in math and science while only scoring 2 points less (276 to 265) in reading. Oh, Perry accomplishes this while spending a whopping $3,000 per student less every year than the overpriced, underacheiving, dysfunctional Illinois K-12 public education system under Quinn and Blago. If Illinois were able to achieve those results at that cost, many of the budget issues in Illinois wouldn’t exist! When you get a chance, take a look at the services that are provided by the Houston (4th largest city) public education system compared to the Chicago (3rd largest city) system. Chicago has amongst the fewest contact hours for teachers and students in US major cities and, except for a few outstanding magnet schools, is pretty much a quality and preformanace disaster. Oh, because Illinois is one of only nine states that sold out the students and taxpayers that gave teachers an unlimitied right to strike, Chicago has amongst the highest salaries per contact hour in the US cities. Illinois also doesn’t have anywhere near the illegal immigrant issues to address as does Texas, but THEIR government is appearing to deal with that issue the best they can despite complete failure to control illegal crossing at the border by Obama. Don’t try to objectively compare results of what Texas government has accomplished compared to the dysfunctional, corrupt mess you’ve built in Illinois. It’s an argument you can’t win. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.