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* So, I take it, then, that he’s a “No” vote this November?…
GOP gubernatorial nominee Bruce Rauner says he has no problem with a November ballot measure that will ask Illinois voters whether the state should increase the minimum wage.
“The voters are going to be allowed to make their voices heard on a nonbinding referendum. I’m supportive of that,” he said Tuesday.
Rauner, a wealthy venture capitalist from Winnetka, also said he’d support raising the minimum wage under two scenarios: If it were increased nationwide; and/or if it were tied to pro-business reforms in Illinois.
He made the remarks while taking questions from the media during a campaign stop he and running mate Evelyn Sanguinetti made in Roanoke.
He has also yet to specify what those “pro-business reforms” actually would be. Would his proposed local option “right to work” law be part of that? We don’t know.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 10:20 am
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Bruce Rauner is adamantly, adamantly, against telling the voters, the press, anyone, what he actually stands for…
…adamantly.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 10:22 am
===He made the remarks while taking questions from the media during a campaign stop he and running mate Evelyn Sanguinetti made in Roanoke.===
“After which, ‘Slip and Sue’ sprinkled gold glitter on the press following them, saying, ‘You like Bruce, you believe Bruce, you support Bruce’, as they left the gaggle.”
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 10:25 am
While skimming this post, where it says Rauner, a wealthy venture capitalist—-I misread and had to go back because I thought it said Rauner, a wealthy ventriloquist……I had to laugh. It does suit, doesn’t it? Only thing missing is the puppet.
Comment by Geronimo Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 10:32 am
I could see the possibility of working out a compromise with workers comp reform (causation) and finding ways to lower unemployment insurance. This would mean that the higher minimum wage wouldn’t cost businesses more in workers comp and UI when it went into affect.
Of course this only happens if people come to the table willing to compromise and work out solutions.
Comment by Ahoy! Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 10:34 am
==e has also yet to specify what those “pro-business reforms” actually would be.==
From the article: “In conjunction with workers’ compensation, tort and tax reform.” The first one especially is one that many businesses would gladly pay a dollar or two more an hour to get reformed and made fairer, especially compared to other States.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 10:40 am
===if it were tied to pro-business reforms in Illinois===
[and I have a team of experts working on those reforms, and we will be announcing our plan shortly.]
Seriously, I am more interested in his take on these than on almost any other issues. He at least has applicable experience in this arena and possible new insights.
Love to know how he’d redo DCEO and its entire mission. What he’d suggest to improve legal/regulatory environment. How to encourage and support start-ups.
Don’t want to hear general political/economic ideology statements from his funders’ brains through his mouthpieces.
Comment by walker Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 10:46 am
Rauner should not fear a ballot measure asking Illinois voters whether a minimum wage increase is apprporiate or not. Let the people speak! Class warfare is the only antic left in Governor Quinn’s bag of tricks and I am hopeful that the great people of this State see through this tactic. Businesses - large and small alike - cannot afford the minimum wage increase, not at a time when job growth is so tepid.
Comment by Black Ivy Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 10:47 am
I’m not a huge fan of long lists of referendums, but if some legislative districts show strong support for raising the minimum wage where the legislator has been opposed, it would seem there would be movement in this direction. I still like the idea of a “student rate, possibly teamed with a retired senior rate” where people who are not trying to raise a family on this wage could benefit from the job availability.
It’s tough for a student to get a job these days. It’s tough for a senior looking to get out and earn a little pen money and socialize. That used to be what minimum jobs were; starters and menial. We need to move people out of the mindset of minimum wage jobs as a be-all end-all. We’ll never be able to raise the rate enough to accomplish their goals.
Comment by A guy... Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 10:59 am
===Businesses - large and small alike - cannot afford the minimum wage increase, not at a time when job growth is so tepid.===
Businesses - large and small alike - will benefit from a minimum wage hike because those people will have more money to spend at all businesses. Additionally, many of those employees, will be able to get of public assistance with the additional income. Will some jobs be lost? Sure. At the margins. But that will be more than made up for the jobs gained as business picks up from the general increase in demand.
Job growth is “tepid”, because the economy is demand-constrained. Increasing the minimum wage will provide varying degrees of upward pressure on wages near the minimum too, which will also increase overall demand. The CBO concludes that an increase in the minimum wage would produce a net increase in GDP. Polls show that a large majority of the public supports an increase in the minimum wage. That’s likely why Bruce flip-flopped on his position of decreasing it by a dollar an hour. I, and many others, anxiously await his suggestions on reforms that he favors in the state’s workmans comp and unemployment insurance laws, as well as a clarification on just what he means by “pro business reforms” in general.
Comment by PublicServant Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 11:16 am
@ Geronimo -
His puppets can be found at 435 N. Michigan, Chicago.
Comment by Joan P. Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 11:23 am
==Businesses - large and small alike - will benefit from a minimum wage hike because those people will have more money to spend at all businesses.==
I’m going to take a wild guess and say you’ve never run a business of any size and had to make a payroll or seen a P&L report. If you’re so intent on putting more money in people’s pockets, there’s another way to do that instead of putting that burden on private business…
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 11:39 am
He’s not going to be pinned down on anything, if he can help it.
The strategy is to be an empty vessel and let voters fill it in however they like.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 11:47 am
And I’m going to take a wild guess and say you’ve never had to depend on the public to support you because your employer, while profiting from your labor, was paying you so little that you had to depend on welfare to live, stay healthy, and get to work on time the next day to continue to generate a profit for your business.
Comment by PublicServant Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 11:50 am
Asking Rauner how he will vote on a non-binding referendum is the wrong question to be asking. We should be asking why our legislators and Governor failed to vote on the issue themselves, especially those who claim to support raising the minimum wage.
And if the answer to that question is “Because it may be good politics in November”, which it is, the question then becomes “Is that a good enough reason to delay meaningful progress?”
While I do not support raising the minimum wage until our job creation picks up, it would have been better to see an increase voted on and possibly passed by the legislature months ago than see it postponed for sake of practicing the politics of division. At least then the individuals working for minimum wage would have had higher income a few months sooner. And if the vote failed despite Dem supermajorities, the issue still could have been used by Quinn’s campaign, possibly even to greater effect.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 12:18 pm
“The voters are going to be allowed to make their voices heard on a nonbinding referendum. I’m supportive of that,”
But, he doesn’t say whether he would act on the voters’ choice, on minimum wage or anything else.
It’s a good ploy; Rauner gets out of taking positions on policy, while implying he’s interested in what the voters want. Joke’s on them if he gets elected.
Comment by Wensicia Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 12:50 pm
Wordslinger: Said strategy worked for Obama.
Comment by The Prince Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 2:28 pm
I guess making 58 million a year isn’t pro business enough for this guy and his friends
Comment by Why Guy Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 3:41 pm
== class warfare ==
It’s class warfare when the value of the minimim wage has been shrinking for years.
Comment by Assess Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 4:01 pm
Considering Rauner was the one saying there should be a referendum on same sex marriage he basically backed himself into a corner on this referendum and had to support it.
Comment by MyTwoCents Wednesday, Jun 25, 14 @ 5:40 pm
UNbelievable. Yep–I think one can safely say that his continued comments about conditions MEANS that Rauner will of COURSE vote AGAINST raising the Minimum Wage in Illinois to $10 an hour. Pathetically, he’s just too wimpy to outright admit it…!
Comment by Just The Way It Is One Thursday, Jun 26, 14 @ 2:21 pm