Tread carefully: Peduto’s progressive rhetoric optimistic, empty

District 8 Councilman Bill Peduto is Pittsburgh’s mayor, and as profoundly stated on the night of his victory, we have ended “the era of Renaissance.”

Instead, Peduto aims to change Pittsburgh through community cooperation, rather than “big thing” investments, in order to promote economic growth and long-term sustainability.

A key element of Peduto’s new Pittsburgh is based upon the idea of a “21st-century Pittsburgh Survey.” In 1907, a team of social scientists developed the Pittsburgh Survey, a comprehensive study designed to identify the challenges of urban life and reform city government in a progressive direction. According to the policy paper “A 21st Century Pittsburgh Survey,” posted to billpeduto.com, the mayor believes that the 106-year-old study needs an update.

Peduto wants to directly investigate the ills that plague the modern urban environment: “We need to talk to workers, to entrepreneurs, to people who ride public transportation, to community leaders and to the corporate and foundation communities — people of all stripes throughout Pittsburgh — to find out where we are now and where we could go and to put it into metrics that we can use to make positive change.”

Our 67th mayor aims to change. A proud progressive, Peduto seeks to govern Pittsburgh as the director of an “urban lab.” He plans to implement universal pre-kindergarten education in the city. He intends to limit city congestion by reworking bus lanes. Additionally, Peduto holds clean energy and green alternatives as integral components to his agenda. Although his plans are optimistic and his rhetoric is awfully convincing, the progressive agenda he boasts must be filled with initiatives that truly enhance Pittsburgh. Empty promises are unacceptable.

Peduto’s plans for a new Pittsburgh are ambitious and will hopefully prove successful. However, accomplishing his goals and executing his agenda will prove a difficult and complicated process.

Even so, Peduto and his associates do not seem worried. In an interview with People for Peduto Communications Director Sonya Toler, she gave insight into how the new mayor intends to bring his plans to fruition.

“It starts with hiring people of integrity and keeping them in place,” Toler said. “Greater transparency and accountability to the public are main focuses.”

It appears that the new mayor is sending a message that city government should be a place comprised of high-caliber individuals whose paramount concern is those governed. In addition, Peduto wants to update city government technologically.

“Pittsburgh is behind,” Toler said, in comparing city governments across the nation. 

“Better technology leads to more efficiency, which leads to financial savings, which leads to more accessibility to the people,” Toler said.

Toler proposes a simple logic — perhaps too simple. In reality, nothing is that easy, especially with government. How exactly is Pittsburgh going to progress technologically? Who will provide the money for such upgrades? Why is it necessary to upgrade? Changing just because other cities are changing does not always lead to proper action. Pittsburgh has done extremely well compared to other post-industrial cities. Why change for the sake of change if things are not going badly? Should new city government technology really be a top priority for Pittsburgh residents? Oftentimes, the cure is worse than the disease, even in regard to small matters such as unnecessary technological upgrades. 

When it comes to environmental policy, Toler clearly stated that “The environment comes first in everything we do.”

At a December White House meeting for city mayors, Peduto directly discussed the environment and progressive energy policies with President Barack Obama. Peduto asked the White House for assistance regarding an energy-saving program that would make Pittsburgh the nation’s first city to move entirely to LED street lights. He also asked for requirements forcing local municipalities to decrease their sewage overflows, which would allow for more environmentally friendly improvement plans.

Going green is great. But once again, how is this going to happen? Obama is not Santa Claus. Asking the President for something makes for a good story but should not be considered as a reliable road map for implementation. 

Peduto also spoke with the president about his universal pre-kindergarten plan.

“He talked directly to the president about it, who in turn was very interested in seeing it happen,” Toler said.

According to Toler, Peduto feels that “the public must be involved in every decision.”

The generalities keep piling up. The 21st century is not the time for general rhetoric but rather for clear and specific policy. 

Peduto and his team are equipped with zeal and sincerity. “Bill was fixed on a goal — to become mayor of Pittsburgh so that he could be the chief advocate for the city,” Toler claimed.

Unfortunately, pure enthusiasm can only go so far. It takes rational policy experts and efficient managers to execute good governance. Idealistic proposals alone cannot get the job done.

This should be painfully evident to every American citizen. In 2008, then-Senator Obama campaigned on a promise of change. Nearly five years have passed since his January 2009 inauguration and there is little to show in the form of actual accomplishments. In 2008, The Illinois senator promised to close Guantanamo Bay Prison, implement no new taxes for families making under $250,000 per year, and introduce a comprehensive immigration reform bill by the end of his first year in office — none of which actually happened. In fact, the only major domestic accomplishment of the president’s administration, the Affordable Care Act, is the quintessential example of the inefficiency and ineffectiveness that is a result of change through big government. 

The reality is that our system is not one suited to the whims and generalities of campaign rhetoric. Because of this, citizens are often disappointed, particularly when the few programs that actually come into existence are not as remarkable as they were made out to be. Carefully conceived plans must be put in place for anything to move forward.

Peduto and his staff can discuss the importance of the environment and universal pre-kindergarten education. But once again, how is this all going to happen? From where is the money coming? What makes Peduto different from every other progressive whose ideas look great on paper but fail in real life?

“The mayor is keenly aware of financial realities,” Toler said.

Toler insists that progress cannot be made by city government alone.

“Nonprofits, foundations and any responsible and good citizen will all be a part of building a new Pittsburgh,” she said.

Civic engagement is essential in reaching a representative democracy’s potential. However, Peduto and his staff continue to speak in generalities that offer no true solution. What exactly are the financial realities of which the mayor is keenly aware? Which nonprofits, which foundations, which citizens are going to help build a new Pittsburgh? Relying on entities and people that are not fully lined up is a failure waiting to happen. Remember, millions of young people were supposed to sign up for new health plans and bring Obamacare to fruition. How did that turn out?

For policy to be effective, it must be clearly, thoroughly and succinctly devised and implemented. The problem with progressive agendas such as Peduto’s is that it sounds great, but it offers little substance in terms of real-world application. The fallacy of big government intervention is the belief that the state can effectively bring about sweeping change in an efficient manner. In reality, the world is a complicated place. Change for the sake of change usually only contributes to greater complication and more burden for the citizen, whether through excess taxes, over-regulation or unnecessary mandates.

With a rational outlook, fiscal responsibility and an eye focused on detail and efficacy, government involvement can help to move Pittsburgh forward. Peduto appears to be aware that his agenda is not feasible if only executed by him and his city hall colleagues. An agenda focused on the public can only prove successful with the public’s participation. It is, then, the responsibility of every Pittsburgh voter, corporation, foundation, nonprofit, university and health care conglomerate to be open-minded toward the new mayor’s wishes and to not only wish for his success, but to contribute toward it.

Reducing poverty, preserving the environment and ensuring educational opportunities are the responsibilities of all citizens, regardless of their political dispositions. Today begins a new era for the city of Pittsburgh built upon the foundation of civic participation. The new mayor appears welcoming to diverse solutions, and it is our responsibility to help provide them in order to realize a new and greater Pittsburgh. 

Write Matt at mrb111@pitt.edu.