The idea of moving agency headquarters out of Washington D.C. and out into the states has
received a fair amount of buzz lately.
Whether touted by those who want to “drain the swamp” or by those eyeing more affordable living in the nation’s capital region, decentralizing the federal government is being teed up as a populist no-brainer for the incoming Trump administration.
But it’s also the wrong solution to the wrong problem. Instead of relocating the federal government’s dysfunction, change advocates should be focused on shrinking it. My home state of Illinois is a great example of why dispersing, rather than reforming, government is a failing strategy.
Illinois’ seat of state government is Springfield, but government jobs have been pulled in different directions over the years. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Illinois politicians made a point of setting up government facilities all across the state. Dozens of corrections facilities, for example, were built throughout downstate Illinois, often in rural locales. While the premise was getting “good jobs” to deserving areas, it frequently has more to do with political patronage for friendly legislators.
This approach backfired, wildly.
Putting government facilities in heretofore conservative-leaning areas produced a generational crop of Republican legislators who voted for more government, higher pensions and richer union privileges, even as they often voted against higher income taxes.
These Republicans representing rural areas teamed up with urban Democrats to make many of the bad judgment calls that led to Illinois today having the worst fiscal crisis among all 50 states, including a pension debt of nearly $130 billion. The tension between conservative principles versus viewing government as an economic development program is evident even today. It’s why attendees at downstate Tea Party gatherings sport “a pension is a promise” stickers.
Government largesse didn’t bring about lasting prosperity for many of those communities either. Sure, individuals lucky enough to get a government job ended up with a plum posting, and the above-market compensation often supported a decent local service sector. But this also meant that the rest of the private sector had a hard time competing for talent.
Companies that couldn’t match the state’s sweet contracts, Cadillac insurance plans, gold-plated pensions, lots of time off and a de facto lifetime employment guarantee with an early retirement provision often left town or failed to launch. Taxpayers were forced to shoulder this burden with rising property, sales and income taxes.
Today, Illinois faces an intertwined economic and budget crisis. These government towns living at the mercy of fickle politicians can’t keep the gravy train running because Illinois is simply out of money. Local government agencies in Illinois spent more than $9 million on contract lobbyists to work legislators in 2015. These hired guns were often sent to Springfield to keep the taxpayer money spigot open.
Things have only started to change in the last 18 months, as Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, began weaning Prairie State Republicans off the easy campaign money offered by public-sector unions and other special interests. It’s freed these Republicans up to unite behind the necessary changes that will keep Illinois from going flat out broke.
Rather than putting relocation trucks on speed dial, the best move for President-elect Trump might actually be inspired by the character of Katniss Everdeen, heroine of “The Hunger Games” trilogy. When Everdeen left the provincial District 12 to fight the power-hungry Capitol, she didn’t do it to redistribute their jobs. She went to break up the overwhelming control that stifled freedom and choice for all but a select few.
Yes, drain the swamp in Washington. But don’t funnel it into someone else’s backyard in the states.
Kristina Rasmussen is president and COO of the Illinois Policy Institute and Illinois Policy Action. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
