54 Comments - Demoralized - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:01 am: Sure, if government was a business. It’s not. Failure to recognize that is a HUGE mistake. Anybody that thinks government can be run like a business is naive. - Empty Chair - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:02 am: Did Kass write that himself or did a campaign staffer ghost write it and he just posted it online? - Cincinnatus - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:06 am: Venture capitalists are not necessarily good at running a large bureaucracy. For that you need someone out of the corporate world. - 47th Ward - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:07 am: The idea that business practices are applicable to governing has always seemed goofy to me. In what business are your share holders also your customers? How does one maximize share holder value for owners while improving customer service? How do you increase market share if you have a monopoly? Applying business practices to government is a feel-good sound bite, but in practice, it doesn’t add up. I’m not saying that government can’t be better managed, it can and it should. I just think government is fundamentally different than business and business skills do not necessarily transfer to success in governing. - wordslinger - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:10 am: Running government like a business. How original and thoughtful. And bankrupt. You don’t elect CEOs with absolute authority. We have division of powers and parameters set by statute and a Constitution. Now, if he meant that Daley and Rauner know how to leverage government to profit as businessmen, he’d be accurate. They’ve both been very good at that. - hisgirlfriday - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:11 am: Of course he wants Daley or Rauner as gov. Either one would give him the chance to recycle those Combine screeds of old. - Irish - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:12 am: A business expert would understand and have some on ideas on how to fix the fiscal mess. However athey would have to remember that a business is run to make a profit. State government is run to provide needed services to those who cannot provide those services themselves. A lot of people forget that. A couple of years ago our local government decided that they needed to cut down on road maintenance in the winter. Salt was expensive and so was overtime. We got a bad ice storm. Nobody was out salting. Many many accidents occurred, luckily no one was seriously injured. My sone was almost killed when a semi took the front of his car off. Good business decision probably. Good government decision? Definitely not. - Chris - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:14 am: “In what business are your share holders also your customers? How does one maximize share holder value for owners while improving customer service? How do you increase market share if you have a monopoly?” Sounds like an argument for someone with experience in utilities. But then, one could look at utilities as quasi-governmental private enterprises, at least in the era *before* cross-regional mergers. - Send in the Clowns - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:14 am: What’s interesting here is how Kass undermines Rauner’s “outsider” schtick. Rauner keeps blathering about how he’s going to take on the “insiders” when he is the poster child for insiders. Kass’s message would actually be a better one for Rauner because this “outsider” stuff just doesn’t pass the smell test. - The Captain - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:15 am: Bill Daley was Commerce Secretary, White House Chief of Staff and campaign manager for a Presidential campaign. Comparing the experience of Bill Daley and Bruce Rauner is like comparing apples and shoelaces. - Cincinnatus - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:16 am: Word, While I generally agree with your comment, do not discount the lessons learned from the corporate world on task management, team building and setting and tracking metrics. These are the valuable lessons that can be transferred from the corporate world which is tuned to weed out the folks who cannot cut it. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:16 am: Nothing like confusing the “business” world & government! They both know how to maximize the largest amount of money you can from contributions to candidates for a corporation, but that doesn’t mean that translate in dealing with legislative issues or cabinet agencies & policy you would prefer not to take a position on. Very lazy thought, but I digress… - in the know - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:16 am: Last time corporations ran governemnts was when English kings granted colonial charters (with the possible exception of some central/south american “banana republics”)….seems like we rejected that. - Small Town Liberal - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:18 am: I’m pretty sure Daley’s main responsibility at any business he worked for was “Continue being brother to Mayor of Chicago”. - Esquire - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:23 am: The most memorable aspect of Daley’s tenure as Commerce Secretary was when he fainted as his appointment was being announced; in 2000, he was the advisor he encouraged Gore not to concede and to contest Florida which proved to be fabulous; in private business he worked for Amalgamated Bank that specialized in accepting deposits from Cook County Government offices; don’t get me started on higher telephone bills from another deal that he cooked up. I think that I will pass on supporting his candidacy. - Chris - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:27 am: “Good business decision probably.” Only if the business were exempt from ordinary liability issues. A company “in the biz” of operating a road (assume it’s possible, just for the argument) wouldn’t do that, bc they’d incur *huge* liability for the accidents and injuries. - MrJM - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:28 am: Thoughts? Kass must have been very, very impressed with hyper-businessman Silvio Berlusconi’s political reign in Italy. – MrJM - justbabs - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:30 am: The very thing wrong with “Illinois” government is the intent to make oneself rich while in office. Daley and Rauner would appear to be able to continue that business objective quite well. Other than that, not sure what they bring to the table. Not that Kass cares or understands the role of government. - Private Business - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:33 am: What success in private business does translate into is the ability to say no. The ability to hold the line on budgets when revenues are short. The ability to run an entity in the black. The ability to prioritize and end unproductive programs. Can’t wait. - Dirty Red - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:35 am: And John Kass knows enough about cooking with beer to maintain the Tribune’s political column. - archimedes - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:35 am: If Kass meant that the two know enough about business so that, as they govern, they would favor policy that encourages business development in Illinois (and jobs, etc.) - that isn’t a bad idea. I’m not endorsing their possession of that skill/knowledge - just saying it is valuable. The Governor has to be politically skilled and bring policy leadership that will grow Illinois economically and, at the same time, avoid policy that allows exploitation by business leaders. It can be a tough balancing act - and being naive makes it harder. - Darienite - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:40 am: In government, the shareholders (voters) and customers are one in the same. In government, the goal is to break even budgetwise, while providing the level of services its citizens needs. In the private side, you can raise prices or decrease the level of goods or services produced to meet the increased demand by the customers. Apples and oranges. - Conspriacies - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:42 am: Talking yesterday with some friends about the possible 2014 conspiracies, here goes- Ruth Bader Ginsburg retires. Lisa Madigan nominated for Sup Ct by Obama. Clears the way for Bill Daley for Governor. Durbin either doesn’t run or wins Dem primary and resigns (for WH appointment). Rahm replaces Durbin on ballot. Quinn gets to appoint someone to the remaining Sen term of Durbin. Who is that someone? - wordslinger - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:45 am: –Who is that someone?– The man in the grassy knoll. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:45 am: - Conspiracies -, I am sure ALL involved, including Justice Ginsburg are on board, keeping absolute silence, and it will go flawlessly. My only question, who is “Mr Pink” in this caper? - Josh - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 10:57 am: Oddly enough, Madigan and Dillard may be the only two establishment candidates for governor who know enough about how government does politics to actually govern Illinois. - Anonymous - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 11:14 am: Business man spends his life avoiding taxes, government man lives on them. - Supremes - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 11:16 am: Ginsburg is already strongly rumored to be considering retirement and will certainly do it while Obama/Democrat is in office. She may have already given the White House a date according to some eastern news bloggers who follow the court. She doesn’t need a role, just gets the ball rolling. - Norseman - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 11:18 am: My thought: Kass has no clue! While government would benefit from some business practices, most attempts to do so fail because of the political nature of government. Daley has the governmental and political experience to be ok. Rauner would be a miserable failure. - Cygnus - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 11:21 am: If government actually were a business, it would be in excellent financial shape (but that almost certainly would be a bad thing for society). This is a point made the other day by Matt Yglesias but it’s worth reiterating. If government was a business, it would own all the nonfederal land in the state, and all of the the structures on that land. That stuff is the revenue base of government. Now, of course, in practice there are policy contrainsts against maximizing this revenue, but those are policy constraints not inherent aspects of the state’s potential balance sheet. In short, if government were run like a business, it would be like China, with all the virtues and faults of that model. I’m sure most people think of the analogy not in the sense that government should ACTUALLY be a business, but in the sense that somehow business is more efficient than government. This is a questionaable assumption. There are private businesses that are horribly inefficient and wasteful - and government agencies that are extraorinarily efficient. And vice versa. - Anonymous - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 11:41 am: Lisa for U.S. Supreme Court? Ha Ha Ha. Not going to happen. Not remotely in the realm of possibility. - shore - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 11:44 am: The photo in the paper version will probably be the highlight of the campaign. I’ve never understood the venom for Kass with certain commenters on this but whatever. He is exactly right though about Rauner and also about the state of the field. For a state known for its agriculture it does not have much of a political farm team right now. - Palos Park Bob - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 11:46 am: Perhaps the biggest problem we have is the complete incompetence of Quinn, Madigan and the rest of the Dems in growing and attracting business to Illinois (without bribing them with tax dollars, of course). We have everything we need to be one of the most prosperous states in the country; transportation, a strong agricultural base, a well educated population (at least outside of CPS,LOL)and attractive amenities like Lake Michigan. The only thing keeping us at the bottom of the business food chain is the corrupt political system that’s willing to let the state go down the tubes so that the machine politicians (of BOTH parties) can keep sucking it dry until it dies. Daley and Rauner understand what will make business and jobs come back to Illinois, and at least Daley understands the politcal limitations very well. No question that Daley has the best potential for growing our economy out of the dysfunctional mess Madigan and Quinn drove largely turned from a “problem” into a “crisis”.. Lisa really hasn’t shown she has a clue about attracting economic investment here. Her Daddy just knows how to use “clout” to game the system to enrich himself and his buddies, and I have no reason to believe she’s any better than her Daddy. Hate to say this, but it seems “Dollar Bill” Daley may be our best hope. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 11:46 am: ===She doesn’t need a role, just gets the ball rolling.=== Unless she changes her mind, as what happend with Sandra Day O’Connor and didn’t like that option as a retiree, the Moon could explode, Martians could land, Michael Jorda comes back to play for the Bobcats … all … possible… right? Again, who is “Mr. Pink” in this caper? - Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 11:48 am: Conspriacies, there are WAY too many moving parts in that conspiracy theory to make it work in the real world. - dupage dan - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 12:21 pm: Kass should stick to his beer can chicken recipes and the Moutza of the Month nominations. - Publius - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 12:34 pm: How many start-up businesses fail. How many firms fail every year. How many need bail-outs? Lots. And they are all run like a business. - dupage dan - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 12:43 pm: Publius, compare that to the gov’t of Italy, for instance. Has had to form new gov’ts nearly every year since WW2. Just sayin - Chicago Cynic - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 12:58 pm: I can’t recall how many times I’ve written these words on this blog…John Kass is a MORON. People good at running businesses are often the worst at running government. Best example would be our two most notable businessmen presidents - Herbert Hoover and George W. Bush. But then again, if you look at the last R primary you had some great examples of successful business people: Herman Cain and Willard Mitt Romney. As I said, Kass is a moron. - Votecounter - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 1:02 pm: I was riding with a Democrat Senator in dogpatch on a Saturday morning, he and I were talking politics, me from the GOP side and he from his Chicago Democrat side, Pate was still in charge. We drove to the Capitol and he went to the north side and pointed to the parking lots. He said you want to see the difference between the parties? He said this full lot is the Democrat lot. The empty one there is the Republican lot. This is our business we love it the GOP guys can’t wait to go home, it’s part time to them. So you Democrats who say you can’t run government like a business are full of BS. It’s just business to you means Republican; Government is your business and you run it that way. - CircularFiringSquad - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 1:05 pm: Kassamoron spent the first 30 minutes of his blabfest talking about CousinBrucey’s “First Major Interview” as if AirBlagoof had any real audience Incredibly neither Kassamoron on his galpal sidekick admitted that they failed to ask CousinBrucey if he would sign or veto Marriage Equality or if CB knows IL does not make law via referendum? - qcexaminer - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 1:31 pm: This is hilarious: “People good at running businesses are often the worst at running government.” Really? You mean unlike those good government, career politicians Quinn, Blago, Ryan, etc. who ran Illinois government so successfully? Considering the state of Illinois government and finances how could trying something different than what has been going on for decades possibly make things worse? I have no idea about how Rauner or Daley or Dillard or whoever would fare as governor, but to dismiss a whole class of people as the “worst” is absurd. - Anonymous - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 1:34 pm: “You don’t elect CEOs with absolute authority.” Well I’m glad we have now justified Mayor Bloomberg - Carl Nyberg - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 1:35 pm: What are Kass’ qualifications for making such a judgment? If you view business as legal forms of predatory practices, Daley and Rauner are probably quite qualified. If you view business as starting small and producing goods and services for regular people, it may be that neither of Daley or Rauner is qualified. - wordslinger - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 1:42 pm: –Well I’m glad we have now justified Mayor Bloomberg– Does he have absolute authority? I’m quite certain there are three branches of government in New York, and he is constrained by statute and Constitution. - wordslinger - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 1:47 pm: Somewhat on subject as we consider the merits of Kass’ arguments, here’s one who got away: Roger Simon with a poignant column on the man who got him his first job out of Champaign, Ebert. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/a-newspapermans-newspaperman-89648.html?hp=r9 Simon joined Royko in walking out of the Sun-Times when Rupert bought the paper. Royko held his nose and walked into Trib Tower, Simon ended up in Baltimore. He was a great columnist for the Sun-Times, giving Jane Byre and Jay McMullen fits. - Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 1:55 pm: ===good government, career politicians Quinn, Blago, Ryan=== Ryan was a businessman for decades. Pharmacist with several stores. - phocion - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 2:10 pm: Good results as President, but no business experience - Bill Clinton. Bad results as President, but had business experience - George W. Bush. It is about results, right? - wordslinger - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 2:17 pm: Blago had been a businessman; a bookie or runner for bookies, according to Robert Cooley (who wrote that before he was governor). And Blago certainly was open for business and looking to make a profit as governor. - Endangered Moderate Species - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 2:27 pm: “Running government like a business” may be the most overused sound bite in politics. Good and bad managers are found in both the private and public sectors. Good managers are respected by their workforce and are constantly asking themselves and their teams, “How can we do this better? How can we do this more efficiently? How can we produce a better product? How can we better satisfy our customer?” - truthteller - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 3:03 pm: Kass is on to something. Daley and Rauner could bring in execs from the banks who could get the feds to bail Illinois out. If that didn’t work, they could bring in the suits from Enron, Countryside, Lehman Brothers, and all those other successful enterprises to show us how to get the state back up on its feet. - D P Gumby - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 3:28 pm: This myth that being a business person immediately makes one highly qualified to lead a state or a nation is propaganda perpetrated by business people who want hold the office (calling Mitt). No scholarly proof business person any better than anyone else. - Chavez-respecting Obamist - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 4:00 pm: Oh dear. I seem to be disagreeing with John Kass. We had 8 years of the MBA-in-chief and we may never recover from it. We don’t need to repeat that mistake at the state level. - Anonymous - Friday, Apr 5, 13 @ 4:04 pm: The biggest challenge in getting a good Corporate CEO to run for office is the campaign part. While many would be happy to disclose their “business dealings,” they also have no tolerance for people digging into their private lives or mud-slinging, even when they have nothing to hide because it distracts from the organization’s objectives and productivity. That alone might be a good reason for corporate execs to run against each other for office, but then, it wouldn’t make many of today’s campaign consultants very happy. And I agree with Cinci and Private Business regarding portable business skills, which seem unfair to simply discount with the generic phrase that “government cannot be run like a business.” Goals and objectives are defined and met within their own unique context. The context, including product, service, environment, politics (yes, CEOs deal with politics as well) are always different, but business people are skilled at, and thrive upon, being able to identify the rights goals and objectives, overcome challenges and obstacles, and implement and maintain their solutions. Again, each factor being unique, which could also include a government “entity.” Having said that though, to really fix things v. make them worse, it’d have to be an “old-school” Corporate CEO and I don’t know enough about either Rauner or Daley to say whether they are old-school or more like the Enron, etc. folks that some others have mentioned. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.