Spending time away from Northwest Indiana focuses one’s realization that there is little policy in NWI that is not structured around “tribal” kickback schemes. Tribalism reflects the reality that politics in NWI primarily revolves around who one knows and who one owes.
It is tribal because the central value promoted by our public officials is loyalty as opposed to effectiveness. Kickback is the lifeblood of tribalism. It means that someone a public official knows or owes is going to benefit from the particular policy, whether that policy is a law, expenditure of funds, a new organization or an appointment to a position.
Although, the “kickback” might not be technically illegal, it would be politically unacceptable in any normal Twenty-First Century society. But in a tribal society like NWI, it is the norm.
In fact, it is the actual ethical norm of tribal society. This is why any effort to promote ethics is doomed to failure in NWI. Ethical behavior in a tribal society is defined by favoring those who are loyal to you. This singular fact of the norms of behavior in NWI explains why our area continues to remain backward and primitive when compared with areas such as Chicago or Indianapolis. Like everything else, programs to promote "ethics" in NWI are actually another camouflaged form to move money and favors to tribal members.
When asked to come up with solutions to our regional problems, the eyes of our public officials glaze over. Inevitably, their answer always consists of “it is beyond our control” or “we need more money.”
The fact that they have never exercised control and that NWI has always had access to continually increasing funds seems to escape them.
Previous kickback schemes discussed in this column are the incestuous appointments in local government, consulting contracts given to family members, or family members benefiting from a relative’s public position. There are hundreds of millions of dollars oozing from NWI that feed the welfare of the connected and do nothing to improve the area. The best example is casino tax dollars. More than $1.5 billion in casino taxes have come into the coffers of NWI public officials, with nothing of value to show for them. But these same public officials are not ashamed to ask for more money.
The Regional Development Authority represents the new money. It is an institution comprised of individuals having no experience in development, as the law and common sense dictate. The RDA will do nothing but sink NWI into the biggest debt quagmire anyone has ever experienced. Most public projects in the world are now recognized as economic disasters and a tax liability around the taxpayer's neck for generations. The disastrous “big dig” in Boston (the most expensive public work in American history) has just collapsed physically; the only success stories from that will be the lawyers. Then, there is the famous tunnel between France and England that carries passengers, freight and cars. It just defaulted on its creditors with more than $3 billion in debt. Those taxpayers will be paying for this into the next millennium.
The latest tribal kickback scheme locally is the Good Government Initiative. It has nothing to do with good government; it is only looking at efficiency. Efficiency in the public arena without a defined policy is a meaningless exercise.
The study of the cities of Gary, Hammond and East Chicago (including their schools) only produced $700,000 in savings, assuming implementation of all the recommendations. This tells you it was never a serious study; only a sophisticated tribal kickback scheme.
The study itself cost $3.5 million.
Who are all the people getting the kickback to give cover to our tribal public officials?
Interesting question that has an interesting answer. As the famous statement said, just follow the money trail.
