Charles Wheelan is a lecturer in public policy at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, and is the author of Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science, so one would expect him to have plenty of thoughts about the economy and how to remedy the current situation. However, the political novice also proved to have many ideas about other issues, including those that directly affect the LGBT community.
Windy City Times: I saw your "Underwater" commercial, and I saw where you said you're not a professional politician. Don't you think that might hurt you in this race?
Charlie Wheelan: It's always a drawback in some people's minds because they want to know what you did last year. I think, right now, it will hurt less than usual, and may actually help. I think, perhaps unfairly, that people paint my major opponents as typical elected politicians—and [ the publics's ] kind of tired of it. So I think there is room for non-traditional candidates in general—to the extent that Obama was a non-traditional candidate—and, if the economy is the number-one issue, what I lack in terms of traditional political experience I can make up for in terms of expertise in what people think is the most important issue.
WCT: Are you a fan of Obama's stimulus package?
CW: I'm a fan of stimulus, in principle; I'm not sure they've done a terribly good job of what they've kicked out, but I'd rather have a bad stimulus rather than no stimulus. However, if I had been there, I would've tried to do some things differently.
WCT: Like what?
CW: I think we should spend a lot more on transportation infrastructure. There was this U.S. Society of Engineers that [ recently ] came out that said we need $2.2 trillion for the upkeep of roads, bridges and that kind of stuff. These are the kinds of investments that make us more productive as a country. So, the el systems and the airports we should do anyway—and if we do them anyway, and speed it up and do it during this slacking economy, that's all the better.
WCT: Speaking of transportation, you're not in favor of a bailout for the auto industry.
CW: I don't like the targeting of a single industry and, in particular, an industry that has not been terribly responsible. So what I would much prefer to see is a tighter, broader safety net for everybody who's been displaced by what's going on. So if you lose your job at a sandwich shop or a mattress shop, I want to make sure you can feed your family, pay your kids' college tuition, whatever. You shouldn't just have those privileges because you work for the auto industry.
On top of that, I happen to think that the auto industry—both labor and management—have been particularly poor over the past 10, 20, 30, 40 years. The product mix was irresponsible, they were way slow on environmentally sensitive vehicles and they fought legislation that would've raised emissions standards. The business model has been way too narrow; I think that a decade or two ago, they should've become transportation companies instead of [ remaining ] auto companies. For example, I've had students who did a terrific project on hybrid buses. Hybrid buses make an unbelievable amount of sense because they pay for themselves in fuel savings pretty quickly, they're quieter than typical buses and hybrid buses get their energy from starting and stopping, which is what buses do. However, it's really expensive to transition the fleet over.
WCT: You're also in favor of universal healthcare coverage.
CW: I would mandate it for people who can afford it. For those who can't, I would do something similar to what Massachusetts has done, which [ involves ] subsidies on a sliding scale.
WCT: How do you plan to reconcile the needs of the more liberal areas with the more conservative ones?
CW: I think the good news right now is that the issue of the economy is hitting everyone. I've spoken with people who literally have buildings named after them who are reeling. I've spoken to parents—upper-middle-class, Lincoln Park types—who'll say, "We thought we had four years of college tuition saved. Now we have two." It's a miserable situation but it's an issue that tends to unite groups that otherwise might be more fractious.
WCT: Let me ask you this: How do you feel about a trans-inclusive ENDA?
CW: I support anything to ban discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation and gender [ identity ] .
WCT: And what's your position on same-sex marriage?
CW: I would support marriage or civil unions. I'm perfectly comfortable with marriage but if there has to be a compromise and civil unions are the first step, I would do that as well.
I support marriage on two levels. One is the civil-rights aspect of it; it offends my sense of justice [ to not allow same-sex marriage ] . You should be able to visit someone in the hospital, just like any married couple would. Also, on the public-policy level, it annoys me—as a heterosexual male with three kids—that someone has the audacity to suggest that my marriage is diminished if two gay people I've never met get married in Vermont. It makes steam come out of my ears because it's so intellectually dishonest.
WCT: How would you describe your experience with LGBT issues?
CW: You know, [ I'm ] pretty much on the periphery. I'm somebody who's supportive, in the intellectual sense. It's not a part of my everyday life, because my everyday life is chasing a bunch of kids around through Lincoln Park. But I'm supportive; I live a 21st-century life like everybody else. People who are a part of the community intersect with my life all the time—and for me and my kids, that's part of the way life is. I think it's really cool that my two older kids have same-sex parents in their classes and, for them, that's just how life is—which is just how it should be.
I think if I can promise people [ in more conservative areas ] economic recovery, they won't sweat my gay-marriage stance. [ Laughs ]
See WheelanForCongress.com .
