Economic growth is sluggish
By Craig Finlay/Journal Staff Writer
Published: Sunday,
September 30, 2007 3:14 PM CDT
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CRAIG FINLAY/Journal Photo-Ralph Martire, CTBA executive director and newspaper columnist, presented a slideshow which argued for greater investment in education as a means toward future economic growth. |
MACOMB - A number of organizations got together Friday to host a
public forum Friday morning entitled, "The State of Working
Illinois: Opportunities and Challenges," about the present and
future of Illinois manufacturing, education and economic
opportunities.
The forum was sponsored by the Workforce
Investment Board of Western Illinois, Chief Elected officials of
Western Illinois and the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability,
an economic think tank. Also present were representatives from
"Illinois Works for the Future," a campaign sponsored by the Chicago
Jobs Council the CTBA, and the Sargent Shriver National Center on
Poverty Law.
The keynote speaker of the event was Ralph
Martire, CTBA executive director and newspaper columnist, who began
by pointing out that the current gross state product of Illinois is
around $540 billion, which makes it the 27th largest economy in the
world, greater than countries like Greece, Ireland or Saudi
Arabia.
"We don't think of ourselves as being richer than Saudi Arabia,
but it's true," Martire said. "But we're languishing in economic
growth." Since 1990, he said, Illinois' economy grew slower than
either the Midwest or the United States as a
whole.
Meanwhile, the average household income in Illinois
has declined from $52,515 in 2000 to $46,132 in 2004. In western
Illinois, he said, only 9.7 percent of new jobs through 2012 are
projected to pay more than the current average wage of $38,
139.
"That means 90 percent of the jobs are going to pay
less," Martire said.
A lot of the problem, he said, was the huge loss of manufacturing
jobs in the state. From 1990 to 2005, he said, Illinois lost 24.3
percent of its manufacturing jobs - a total of 222,500 jobs. This is
as companies shut down and moves jobs overseas, as happened to
Galesburg when Maytag moved to Mexico, throwing 1,600 people out of
work.
One needs only to take a walk through the largely shut
down Carl Sandburg Mall in Galesburg to witness the effects of that
shut down. Martire clued those in attendance in to something not
many know about Maytag.
"At the same time Maytag moved to
Mexico, Maytag was investing millions of dollars in its German
plants, even though there's a higher wage burden and three times as
much tax burden," Martire said. He stated earlier that high taxes
were not the reason for poor economic growth in Illinois. Illinois,
in fact, ranks 48th out of 50 states for heaviest tax burden.
The reason Maytag was willing to invest millions in Germany while
shutting down the Galesburg plant and moving it to Mexico was the
higher skill levels of workers capable of producing top-end
merchandise.
"In Germany, they (Maytag) are willing to pay
the labor costs for top end products," Martire said. "Mexican
workers cannot build the products they build in Germany."
A
lot of the difference has to do with education, he said, including
vocational education. Unemployment rates, he said, are highest for
those with the least education.
Among unemployed youth in Illinois, over half of whites, 61
percent of blacks and "virtually all" Hispanics are both unemployed
and not in school.
"What!? He said, commenting on his own
slide show. "We're losing them!"
He then gave survey of
education in Illinois, with some equally grim statistics. Illinois,
for example, is the third most segregated state in the nation, the
vast majority of black and white (90 percent!) of students attending
poorly integrated schools. Minority schools receive an average
$1,154 less per year than majority white schools, the second worst
gap in the nation.
The state of wages in the Illinois reflects that discrepancy, as
the income gap between whites and blacks has grown by 162 percent
since 1980.
The lack of funding in education extends across
the board, however. Currently, the state spends $5,334 per student
per year in primary education. The Education Funding Advisory Board
recently estimated that, in order to ensure just two-thirds of
non-at risk students pass, the state should spend $6,675 per
student.
Better education - and Martire was not bashing the
state of Illinois, which currently devotes over 80 percent of the
budget to education, health and human services - means a better
economy. That was the point that was consistently driven home all
morning by Martire and attendees.
That may mean higher taxes, but the public would get that money
back, he said. He also threw out a factoid to show the dangers of
poor primary education. Do you know how the state of Colorado plans
how many prisons it is going to build?
By looking at the
number of students who aren't passing third grade reading.
