Fantasies, lies mark region’s doomed efforts at development Oct. 10, 2005
By Prof. Maurice M. Eisenstein
Post-Tribune columnist
With rare exceptions the unprofessional leadership that is consumed with the goal of mediocrity is universal in NWI. One of the characteristics of mediocrity is lack of honesty with oneself and with others.
These leaders worked to bring Mittal Steel headquarters to NWI and the development of the RDA; both are riddled with lies and fantasies.
I used to say that there are two major lies/fantasies promoted by public officials in NWI: The Tom McDermott, Sr. fantasy and the state Legislatures’ lie. There is now a third, the RDA fantasy.
The McDermott fantasy was tax reduction results in attracting businesses. This justified his salary from the NWI Forum and was repeated for years while study after study showed that taxes were a minimal factor in business’s location decision. McDermott was kicked out of the Forum, and we still don’t have new retail business in NWI.
The NWI legislators’ lie was “Indianapolis doesn’t love us; therefore we are helpless getting anything for NWI.”
NWI legislators gave their unanimous support to bills redefining business personal property tax and giving favorable reassessment to NWI’s largest businesses. They passed with unanimous support by all legislators because NWI’s legislative delegation asked for their support in spite of all the information they had that this would hurt the taxpayer financially.
With the support of the mayors, these legislators then proceeded to RDA.
The RDA’s fantasy and lie is economic development. There is nothing the RDA has ever proposed, or for that matter the local mayors, that leads to economic development.
Many individuals are making money repeating these words as though they are true.
It is an unsubstantiated fantasy that anyone will fly into Gary. Five airlines are bankrupt and are cutting back flights all around the country.
O’Hare airport’s expansion is larger than three Gary airports. The RDA has plans for bus lines for no one to ride.
Bus ridership around the country has been going down constantly since 2000. Finally, there is a plan for a train to nowhere that no one wants if they have to pay for it.
When taxpayers get the costs for these fantasies, don’t cry to me. Only the most unprofessional accepts these fantasies.
What is not a fantasy is that Mittal never would have placed its headquarters in NWI.
From an economic development point of view, NWI is an embarrassment. Gary, Hammond, East Chicago and Lake County are the nation’s most corrupt local governments.
Simultaneously they are the most inefficient; Lake County government and Hammond increased their budgets.
Mayor Tom McDermott, Jr. wanted to raise Hammond’s budget by more than $8 million after passing the cost of the health department to other county taxpayers. All the while, Gary, East Chicago and Hammond have the highest crime rates in the country.
Finally the work force in NWI is worthless. Even the mills cannot find people to hire.
How would new businesses?
And no leader is addressing that problem and being honest that the work force is so poor that economic development cannot occur. Ignoring the problem is a fact because the mayors and legislators left $50 million for NWI higher education on the table in Indianapolis.
Additionally much of the population of NWI is illiterate.
That means they cannot communicate and calculate simple additions. Of what good are they to a company?
Mittal knew there is no economic development happening in NWI. Why don’t the NWI leaders stop fantasizing by repeating the words like some kind of mantra? All that one can ask is what are these people smoking?
Prof. Maurice M. Eisenstein is associate professor of political science at Purdue University Calumet. Contact him at a 989-2688 or [email protected]
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