28 Comments - 47th Ward - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 10:51 am: I bet if Dan waits just a bit, Quinn will step on his on announcement at some point today. Maybe more than once. How many stops is the governor making today? - Rich Miller - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 11:21 am: 9 - Quinn T. Sential - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 11:33 am: I understand the perspective with respect to Brady’s home rule over-ride legislation on the big boxes, but a lot of legislators copped that excuse in their vote against the Cook County sales tax repeal. It would be hard for them to take the other side of the argument on union busting economic development legislation. At the risk of being deleted today however; I have to ask what is “dreamlike about Brady’s assertion about long term policy initiatives that would result in job creation and growth through the ensuing positive economic impact that would result? I understand and respect your mantra about not being able to just cut your way to balancing a $12 billion deficit, but it makes me wonder whether you see no benefit at all to long term policy changes that would mitigate the need for cofiscatory revenue raising mechanisms. Set aside for a second what spending would be cut, and what revenue would be raised through taxes and fees, and I’d be interested to hear some insight on proposal for proposals for specific changes in economic policy that people would accept and support. I’d also be interested in some reasoned projections of the expected economic impact those changes might produce. Take the union vs. non-union element out of the equation for a moment, and explain how the area in the city where the Wal Mart is proposed would not benefit from the devlopment from the site. Are no jobs better than some jobs; even if perceived inferior? Is no sales tax revenue better than some sales tax revenue? Is it better for the area residents to have a higher cost of living through higher priced inferior goods, or would it be easier for them to make ends meet if they had more choice, better selection, higher quality, and lower prices? The Wal Mart is only one example that is hijacked by the union v. non-union issue, but what other options are out there that would represent policy shifts that would result in a better long term economic climate for Illinois residents? I am not convinced that just higher taxes and fees are one of them. - wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 11:36 am: It’s going to be rather dreary if GOP gubernatoria candidates run as junior Federal Reserve or House Ways and Means chairmen. In a global capitalist society, the abilities of state governments to move the needle on jobs and development through tax policy is limited. Let’s maximize our quite abundant resources; concentrate on real state tasks like transportation, utilities, schools and public safety. - Anon - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 11:59 am: Wow. Kinda refreshing to see a Republican get out of the chamber board room or typical downtown “on the street” setting in the loop and go to the site of a real issue like on the South Side. Good for him. Also nice to see someone talking about a real plan that doesn’t just feed the monster of irresponsible state government more tax dollars. - Captain Flume - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 12:09 pm: Quinn is quoted as saying “You don’t want to raise taxes . . .” but did not say that raising taxes was unnecessary. Few people “want” to raise taxes, but that does not mean they won’t or shouldn’t. Maybe I am splitting hairs here, or maybe I am splitting Hynes. - Quinn T. Sential - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 12:12 pm: [In a global capitalist society, the abilities of state governments to move the needle on jobs and development through tax policy is limited.] This sounds more like an excuse than a solution. I would not want to be the Governor; or Mayor of Peoria) when Caterpiller announces that they are re-locating their HQ from Peoria to another state that has found a way to move the needle; not just with tax policy, but overall fiscal policy. Mny other states would welcome the types of jobs that our fiscal policy will no longer be able to support, because we are over-burdened with feeding the beast. - Will County Woman - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 12:49 pm: Captain Flume, i get where you are coming from, but i think you’re splitting hairs. the general principle is that raising taxes during a recession is a bad idea appilies here. - Ghost - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 12:52 pm: the - Ghost - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 1:01 pm: the question is what were those 700,000 k jobs, and how does lowering taxes bring them back? Job loss in Illinois has been in manufactoring and factory work. Of note, in the Midwest, MO, Indiana, Wisconsin also are seeing these jobs dissapear. “The reason, even though manufacturing activity is at a record high in the US, industrial employment is stagnant or declining. Part of it is the result of manufacturing jobs moving out of the country, and of mergers, acquisitions and consolidation, but much of it has to do with the nature of today’s manufacturing. Thanks to automation and technology, fewer employees are needed. Instead of four low-skilled workers on an assembly line, you now may have one worker entering numerical codes into a computer that controls the manufacturing process.”[Jennifer Ratcliff of Manufacturers’ News, Inc] Lowering business taxes will not keep jobs in the US. When other countries can provide call centers and manufacturing work for a week on what it costs in the US to provide it for an hour before looking at taxes, there is no way to compete for this work with tax incentives. BTW if tax incentives are what it takes to bring business, then how come the states with no taxes do not have 100% of all business? By contrast, why does CA with some of its extremly brudensome regulations and taxes continue to have large business? Its almost like a buisness location has many factors. I doubt the guy who mos lawn and does landscaping located here for the tax benefit; he started the buisness because he thought there was a need for that service. We need to look at creating new industry and services; our future job growth is not ties to limiping along jobs which can be done globally for a lot less money, it is in increasing the educational level of our population to develope new products and services. - wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 1:05 pm: Quinn, that’s an interesting straw man, I didn’t realize Cat was moving. What Utopia among the lower 48 lured them away? Tell me how the SOI’s fiscal policy impacts a multi-national corporation like Cat? Where do you think that ranks in their calculation among economic factors such as interest rates, balance of trade, tariffs, etc? Besides tax breaks, which everyone wants, what do you think they want most of state government. Good roads, an educated work force and safe places to live. - colt 45 - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 1:35 pm: good for brady to go directly to a tangible piece of reality in illinois’ business, economic and political climate. he is proposing ideas and i would say let’s talk about his ideas. to simply dismiss them as “dreamlike” is beneath you, rich. the instant response to one like yours would be “why?” what brady is talking about runs counter to the way things have been done in illinois for a long time. there are alternatives to the raising taxes/cutting services rut that has trapped so many people in government in this state and it seems to me that brady is trying to get people to think differently. whether or not his ideas have merit is completely debateable but without debate we have the mess the state is in today. - downstate hick - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 1:46 pm: Brady thinking a little out of the box is dreamlike, Interesting. But Madigan, Blago, Quinn and the Illinois democratic majority passing three straight extremely unbalanced budgets. Almost nightmarish. - LakeviewLady - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 1:51 pm: I was at Quinn’s press conference this morning. Looked to me like he is geared up for this race. Room was packed and he came out strong on his jobs message and building a green economy. I don’t think Hynes’ attacks are going to have any effect on how the kickoff story plays out. - zatoichi - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 1:51 pm: When Brady talks about 700,000 jobs is he talking $20-$25+ an hour skilled manufacturing jobs or $10 and under service jobs? Locally, several companies announced they are going to redo their lines to become more automated and need fewer people just as Ghost described. These are not jobs that move somewhere, they just disappear while the company stays. The companies have little choice if they want to remain in business. It is nice saying the standard buzz words that voters want to hear, but the details of ‘how to get large companies here’ becomes very difficult. I’d like to hear more from Brady on the details. - colt 45 - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 1:57 pm: i’m really tired of people placing their values on work for everyone else. personally, i’ve had to take the $10-$12 an hour job before because it was the only one i could get at the time. that 10-12 bucks an hour was better than nothing and i worked a couple of them at the same time…presto! 20-24 dollars an hour. the fact that ANY job would leave our state is a disgrace to those in charge. period. - bwana - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 2:49 pm: Bradys a god guy but why use Wal-Mart as an example, for every job(part time to avoid overtime laws) they provide how many local shops are eventually forced out of business because of the 900lb gorilla Mart has become globally with suppliers. Downtown districts all over the country are vacant from Marts “promises”. Be carefull what ya wish for! Oh by the way hows Bradys’ construction company doing? Ask his Bros. - Quinn T. Sential - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 3:02 pm: Word, That is no straw man in the sense that companies have relocated their HQ’s with little disruption to their business for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which is the business climate of the state they are leaving vs. the state they are going to. [Tell me how the SOI’s fiscal policy impacts a multi-national corporation like Cat? Where do you think that ranks in their calculation among economic factors such as interest rates, balance of trade, tariffs, etc? Besides tax breaks, which everyone wants, what do you think they want most of state government. Good roads, an educated work force and safe places to live.] How about these for starters: A more balanced and less plaintiff friendly litigous state court system resulting in less potential litigation expense and fewer or lesser product liability damage awards. A more balanced Workers Compensation system which does not view the corporation or their insurers proceeds as free money to distribute to claimants who’s injuries are suspect as to their association with accidents at work, or their severity if they even did occur at work. Do you have any sense of what CAT may budget and pay for litigation expense, product liability and workers compensation claims costs on an annual basis? A reduction in expenses such as these can fall right to the bottom line, and can make a move a self financing venture over time. Good roads, an educated work force, and safe places to live can be found in states with good economic and fiscal policy, and in those states the direct cost of doing business can be substantially less. In addition, the cost of funding government can be substantially less as well, resulting in an overall better business climate. - wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 3:15 pm: Quinn, no snark, where are these business Utopias? - Rich Miller - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 3:17 pm: wordslinger, I was wondering the same thing. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 3:21 pm: Thinking of moving Rich? - Anon - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 4:06 pm: I was also at the governor’s announcement this morning. His message was strong and he is ready to go. I felt that his message is good and that he is the kind of messenger that we need now in Illinois. The previous governor has let me down. I believe in Pat. As I watched hims speak, I wondered why Dan Hynes has chosen this as his time to run for governor. Its a bad move and democrats will not forget that he divided the party. - Secret Square - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 4:13 pm: The threat of Cat moving has been dangled (never explicitly stated, but implied) over the Peoria area repeatedly for many years as a means for Cat to get whatever concessions it wants from local/state government. It is nothing new. - wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 4:23 pm: SS, Cat shut down plenty around the Midwest in the early 80s recession. Nothing personal, just business, and certainly nothing to do with SOI fiscal policy. I don’t doubt they wouldn’t mind expanding overseas for the international market. Ford sells, and I believe makes, more cars overseas than domestically now. Have you wondered why in the midst of bankruptcy GM wasn’t screaming for import quotas like they did in the 80s? They want to make and sell in China and India, the two slam-dunk growth markets. Protectionist sentiment doesn’t go over well with the generals and party aparatchiks who pick the winners and losers in “Communist” China. - steve schnorf - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 7:10 pm: I think one of the utopias may be right here, where in one of the more recent moves of very large company HQs, Boeing relocated. Its nice to have HQs. Its even nicer to have operations, and if Cat moves any big piece of operations elsewhere in the US, it may just as likely be because of our inability to provide trained skilled workers because of our under-investment in education and training. - wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 7:32 pm: Steve S., I’m with you. I’m concerned that many candidates are selling snake oil about the ability of state fiscal or tax policy to drive economic development. And that the resulting “economic development” will solve our budget problem without serious and painful decisions. Take Brady, for example. From what I’ve read, he’s shed about 2/3 of the jobs from his home-building business. What in the world did state government have to do with that? - Levois - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 8:52 pm: This is what happens when I’m not paying attention a Republican downstater in a predominantly minority area. Talking about exactly what should be discussed, JOBS. Unfortunately this little stop on the jobs tour wasn’t widely seen outside of a few sources I’ve found out there! - steve schnorf - Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 10:39 pm: l, you probably missed it when R senators visited a whole bunch of CPS inner city schools while they were doing their research on Chicago school reform Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.