Open for short term business

In today\'s JSOnline, Chandler McKelvey, former secretary of development serving under Gov. Lee Dreyfus, lays into the ridiculousness of the Walker Administration and their claims of “open for business”. In the column, Mr. McKelvey decries the Governor’s “short-term” thinking and points out how detrimental that is to the long-term future of our great state and our quality of life.

The things that create the conditions that lead to the growth of good jobs are a skilled, educated, stable and dedicated workforce, a substantial group of highly educated and motivated entrepreneurs, above-average infrastructure and government services, a high overall quality of life and a sufficient pool of investment capital. Low tax rates, lax regulations and enfeebled employees come in way down the list of factors that create a positive business environment.

So what is Wisconsin doing now? For one, we are doing everything we can to demoralize our workers. It doesn’t take a particularly wise person to see that the attack on public employees is part of an attack on all workers.

We also are taking steps to ensure that the quality of the education provided by Wisconsin schools and state universities is going to decline. And we are putting up signs on the Illinois border announcing that “Wisconsin is Open for Business”?

The only employers likely to be attracted by those blandishments are those whose primary objective is to make quick profits based on low taxes, feeble environmental regulations and the ability to exploit their employees. We would be foolish to think that those particular companies are the ones on which we want to build our economic future.

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3 thoughts on “Open for short term business

  1. God forbid the (R)s would stoop to crack open any of the academic literature. They would discover at the top of the list for consideration in relocating a business is presence of a skilled employee pool. Now how has this administration done in appealing to that constituency?

  2. Even if you believe that an educated workforce is the top way to attract business, that does not mean that you should always increase spending in this area and it can never be cut. Everything is a tradeoff. If you have to raise taxes to supply additonal money to education, isn’t there some point where the increased taxes outweigh the marginal benefit in education? You may not think that we have reached that point, but many people do. An argument like “presence of skilled labor is the top consideration when relocating a business” could be used to advocate for ever increasing spending in this area without regard to any tradeoff.

    – It doesn’t take a particularly wise person to see that the attack on public employees is part of an attack on all workers.

    I do not believe that what has occured is “an attack on all workers”, nor do many other people. I guess everyone who thinks otherwise is not “a particularly wise person”. Both sides use this type of argument as a way of shutting down any real discussion or acknowledgement of a differing opinion. You simply state that if you do not agree you are stupid.

    I realize that many liberals believe every conservative leader is evil. However, do you really believe that Walker wants to be Governor so that he can attack or destroy all of the workers in the entire state.

  3. Anony,

    for one….Its not really a theory that an educated workforce attracts the best businesses.

    Enough of that lets get to education, i agree we cant just keep increasing spending in education without a plan. I am not going to get into details here because I have over and over and over on this blog. Right now we dont spend anywhere near what we need to on education. Especially, as everyone points out, the amount of money we pay on health care for our educators. Now if thats really a concern of yours, where were you(and others who complain) during the 14 month debate on “Obamacare”? Its not the english teachers fault that it costs $25k a year to insure her. Then add in so many kids are taught in substandard schools, with old textbooks, lack of programs etc… and we are hurting our future. As Franklin Roosevelt said: “The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize. ”

    I did not hear the state is broke and during the debate to stop taxing HSA accounts or when trying to implement voter ID(which has a serious cost).

    I would say that there is an absolute attack on all LABOR. You could say it is not on all workers because you are right, elected officials and the Deschane family have not taken a hit at all. The middle class workers are ALL taking a hit.

    As for what the Gov wants to do with his position I think he has made perfectly clear. He wants to break the unions and sell off our power plants and reward his donors heavily, thus breaking the democratic party and propelling himself on to a higher stage. How many times does he have to say it before it sinks in?

    In the words of our governor “Thanks a million”

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