Pubdate: Mon, 30 Sep 2002
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2002 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Dennis Byrne
Note: Dennis Byrne is a Chicago-area writer and public affairs consultant
Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1785/a06.html

HERE HE COMES TO SAVE THE . . . OH, NEVER MIND

OK, so Rod Blagojevich smoking pot years ago shouldn't determine whether he 
should be a governor. Past disregard of laws, small or large, surely has 
nothing to do with future respect for law enforcement, right?

And, OK, so Blagojevich is so dull that he couldn't come up with a better 
response to the "Did you ever smoke weed?" question, and ended up looking 
more Clintonesque than Bill Clinton.

OK, so Blagojevich inspires so little trust that no one believes that he 
can't remember if he inhaled.

And, OK, so Jim Ryan should get no credit for never having done drugs. In 
fact, let's ridicule Ryan for being a Boy Scout when it comes to character.

So what does that leave us to discuss? Of course! The serious issues. The 
great suffocating stuff of white papers that clog both candidates' Web 
sites, and which hardly anyone reads. On--oh let's pick a topic-- creating 
jobs. Blagojevich claims he can create 250,000 of them. Wow! Imagine that. 
Elect Rod and we've got 250,000 new jobs in the state. Just how many is a 
quarter million new jobs? That's almost the number of existing construction 
jobs in Illinois. Amazing. Blagojevich says he can create what amounts to 
the employment provided by the construction business, one of the largest 
industries in the state. That when the nation has lost about 2 million jobs 
during the recession, Rod, right here in Illinois, knows how to bring 12.5 
percent of them back. Apparently, he's correct, because no one-- including 
all us supposedly skeptical media types--has bothered to challenge the 
number. Why did he stop at a quarter million? He might just as well have 
claimed that he could create a half million, or even a million jobs, and 
get away with it.

Maybe, I thought, his Web page tome would provide the evidence. But in all 
7,239 words, I failed to find it. Where do the numbers come from-- thin 
air? There's the statement that of the 250,000 new jobs, 53,000 would be in 
Northern, Central, Southwestern and Southern Illinois. Meaning that parts 
east are going to get almost 200,000 new jobs?

In fairness, I liked some of his ideas, especially providing high- speed 
Internet infrastructure throughout the state to build upon the new economy. 
Folks who think everyone ought to crowd into the city won't like the idea, 
because it would allow more people to use the Internet to work from rural 
areas, where more people would move because they like it better there. But 
that's another column.

I also read Jim Ryan's job-creation plan, which at only 4,237 words right 
there makes it superior. Both shared obvious ideas that no one could 
reject, such as more opportunities for small businesses, better use of 
Illinois coal reserves and promoting tourism. The kinds of things people 
have been working on for years. The major difference was in philosophy: 
Ryan believes that "jobs are created by the private sector, but the actions 
of state government can promote or discourage business development." Which, 
of course, is the correct approach.

If Blagojevich adheres to that philosophy, it is camouflaged by such tired 
and empty language as "[the government program will] foster successful 
statewide partnerships that achieve real results for working people all 
across Illinois."

Oh, one other important difference. Ryan was not so bold or foolish to 
assert how many jobs he would create, because I think (I hope) he knows 
that it is impossible to predict. One disadvantage of predicting how many 
jobs you will create is that it strongly invites an accounting of how much 
it will cost. For example: Suppose the average cost of creating each of 
Blagojevich's new jobs is a very conservative $5,000. That comes to a total 
of $1.25 billion. Where this money will come from, he doesn't explain.

Helping to create jobs is a wonderful thing that a governor ought to try to 
do for his state. Making wild, unsupportable claims that ultimately erode 
public trust is not.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D