Public opinion polls vary widely on who's going to succeed Chicago's Barack Obama as president, but they agree on one thing: Public confidence in government and its ability to get things done is at record low levels.
The reason is fairly obvious. A weak economy that's creating jobs but not nearly as much wealth for the average person has lots of folks convinced that “they” are eating our bacon. From Donald Trump on the right to Sen. Bernie Sanders on the left, populism is the current rage as pols try to figure out how to make the case that they are on voters' side.
Obama never really has pulled off that trick. Though he's accomplished more than people realize and many in Washington never gave him a fair shot, the former University of Chicago law instructor's wonky side slips out far too much.
Similarly, Mayor Rahm Emanuel never connected with average Chicagoans, even before anyone ever heard of Laquan McDonald. Following Richard M. Daley, who mangled the English language and dressed like 50 bucks, Emanuel comes across as utterly self-contained and concerned about rich people like himself. He has little reservoir of personal goodwill to draw on in this time of crisis.
However, it's Gov. Bruce Rauner whom I find really interesting when it comes to pulling off populism.
Rauner is truly rich compared with Emanuel. He pretty much bought the governor's mansion by himself. He's about as ordinary as a private jet to St. Bart's. Yet he's smart enough to know that instinctively. Ergo, all the Harley riding, “g” dropping and frumpy dressing.
The same is true with Rauner's proposals for change in the ongoing state budget standoff.
He's right that the property tax and corporate income tax in Illinois are well above those of competing states. He's right that the state's job creation machinery has clunked to a near-total stop, except in downtown Chicago. He's right that House Speaker Mike Madigan has been in power a couple of decades too long. And he's right that organized labor has much of the state's politicians by the short hairs and has used that power to get things it shouldn't, like 3 percent annual compounded hikes in pension benefits in an era of 1 to 2 percent inflation.
But many of us suspect that if Rauner were to get his way and curb union influence, all he would be doing is moving money from middle-class union households to upper-income groups.
I mean, isn't that what outsourcing is all about? Firing people who make $12 an hour and replacing them with people who make $8 so that taxes paid by the wealthy can be a little lower? And aren't Madigan and the unions trying to prevent that?
My conservative friends would argue that states with a different economic model, some in the South but also Indiana, are creating jobs faster than we are. A recent study by the Illinois Policy Institute even suggested that statewide, after adjusting for the cost of living, factory jobs in Indiana on average now pay better than in Illinois.
If Rauner really wants to win this war with Madigan, he's going to have to take his inner populist beyond appearances. That means moving away from the mano a mano power struggle. (My suggestion is to concede that each is a beast and get on with it.)
Instead, the governor is going to have to start convincing Illinoisans that it's in their economic interests to side with him. That means more than just opposing higher taxes. It means demonstrating to voters why his policies will put more money in their pockets than Madigan's will.
I can't guarantee that would end this fight. But all Rauner is doing now is wearing out the state's credit card. Time for a new approach, sir?
Above is from: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160116/ISSUE05/301169991/rauner-must-move-beyond-populist-imagery-in-budget-battle
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