* Press release…
– Governor Rauner today discussed the administration’s efforts to cut the red tape in state government and make Illinois more competitive with surrounding states at the Illinois Competiveness Council Forum.
“Excessive red tape has been a barrier blocking small business and entrepreneurs from wanting to grow and expand in Illinois,” said Governor Rauner. “That’s why we created the Illinois Competiveness Council nearly six months go to see where we can streamline and improve the restrictions in government.”
Governor Rauner signed an executive order last year to form the Illinois Competiveness Council and undertake a comprehensive review of the Illinois Administrative Code. The governor has directed the agencies working with the Illinois Competitiveness Council to reduce regulations by 20 percent. The Council led by U-Jung Choe will work with agencies from those areas to reduce regulatory burdens and cut the red tape.
“We are deeply committed to this mission. We will listen to all suggestions, make immediate changes when possible, and do all we can to advance Illinois’ economic climate,” said U-Jung Choe, chairwoman of the Illinois Competiveness Council.
The Council solicited assistance from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University to analyze the Illinois Administrative Code to best understand where red tape existed, where to cut it, and how to improve Illinois’ business climate. Illinois’ current administrative code is significantly larger than a majority of states, according to the analysis by the Mercatus Center. Illinois has more than 259,000 restrictions that make up more than 15 million words.
Additionally, the Mercatus Center found that most regulatory restrictions were in five areas: public health, environmental protection, social services, professional occupations and transportation.
* From SourceWatch…
The Mercatus Center was founded and is funded by the Koch Family Foundations. According to financial records, the Koch family has contributed more than thirty million dollars to George Mason University, much of which has gone to the Mercatus Center, a nonprofit organization. […]
The Mercatus Center is an “associate” member of the State Policy Network, a web of right-wing “think tanks” in every state across the country.
* Anyway, if you click here and go to about the 10-minute mark, you’ll see Gov. Rauner talking about how state spending has increased while state employment has remained flat. And then he says…
And they say, well, we need more regulations to force companies to pay people more.
No. It’s not gonna happen. Companies will just leave. That’s what they’re doing, they’re voting with their feet.
And they say, we don’t want to compete with Texas, they don’t have regulations there, their workers, you know, they need more protections down, they don’t have enough protections in Texas.
Well, you know what? Texas workers, factory workers make way more than factory workers in Illinois. Why? It ain’t because regulations are forcing their pay up, it’s because it’s a booming, healthy competitive economy with companies competing to hire workers. That’s why. And that’s the answer to long-term prosperity for the people of Illinois. And that’s the key to a better future for our children and our grandchildren, which is the reason I decided to be governor.
Setting aside the obvious minimum wage argument for now, click here for the BLS definition of production workers. Now, click here for the BLS Illinois page and you’ll see the median wage for production workers is $15.95 per hour. Click here and you’ll see that same median wage in Texas is $15.62 per hour.
Illinois has a higher cost of living in general than Texas, so those TX workers are putting more in their pockets. But do they make “way more” in Texas?
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Following is the response of SEIU Healthcare Illinois Communications Director James Muhammad to news that Gov. Bruce Rauner today voiced opposition to raising the Illinois wage floor, even as momentum grows to raise it to $15, via House Bill 198:
“When he opposes raising the wage for Illinois workers, Bruce Rauner continues to describe his belief that labor should be cheap and that workers are not central to the health of our economy. He paid for his many mansions via the profits from cheap labor and yet he wants to deny any economic security to the working families of Illinois? This is wrong and hypocritical.
“The Rauner budget impasse has slowed growth in Illinois and the quickest way to put money back into the economy is to give a raise to the 2.3 million Illinois workers, more than 40 percent of the workforce, who make less than $15 per hour and who would benefit from passage of House Bill 198.
“As Gov. Rauner dismantles education, healthcare, social services and all the tools that helped grow the Illinois middle class from the bottom up in the first place, we hope he abandons his trickle-down opposition to raising the wage floor for the women and men who work hard while others, like him, reap the profits of the sweat of their brow.”
* Related…
* Democrats push for minimum wage increase: Rep. Litesa Wallace, D-Rockford, said the state has to “pick up where employers leave off” through government programs and subsidies. “I am really tired of working poor people being the bogeyman in the way that we talk about this,” Wallace said. “Let’s change the narrative, because you’re receiving welfare too.”
* Editorial: Find a way, lawmakers, to give Illinois residents a pay raise: Illinois residents who make the minimum wage are overdue for a raise. The same is true for Americans across the nation. Workers are more productive than ever, but you wouldn’t know it based on their wages. In the last four decades, their pay has lagged far behind their contributions in the work force. The disparity helped make “income inequality” a catchphrase of the decade.
