You in the business community have long been at the heart of the so-called "leave us alone" coalition. You’ve argued that if you could only get bureaucrats and politicians to stop bothering you, then just maybe you can actually make payroll.
Most of you aren’t looking for much in the way of government favors either … because you know they come with pesky strings and fine print. You’ve always agreed with Ronald Reagan when he summarized government’s philosophy as, "If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it."
Well, it’s time for a new approach. In the battle between bureaucrats and business, the former has already won too many skirmishes, and there are already government policies in place that are going to increase your burdens in the months and years ahead. In other words, it’s not enough to hope that if you’re real quiet, government won’t notice you or put you in its crosshairs. You need to join your voice with other entrepreneurs to try to reclaim lost ground.
The most obvious example is the area of taxes. Unlike many times in the past, it’s not enough to hope that Congress won’t jack up your taxes or fees yet again. Standing pat, allowing the status quo to continue, will increase your taxes automatically … because many of the Bush tax cuts could expire in the next several years. In 2011, for example, not only will marginal income tax rates rise dramatically unless Congress acts soon, but the personal capital gains rate will increase from 15 percent and 0 percent to 20 percent and 10 percent.
A state level example is health care. Wisconsin health care costs are rising faster than the national average and faster than much of the rest of the upper Midwest. For many businesses, those rising costs are becoming a greater drag on prospects for growth than Wisconsin taxes – and that is saying something!
Of course, there are many factors driving health care costs. There are also some characteristics in Wisconsin law that make our situation different and worse than many other states. For one thing, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle is now the only governor in America, Republican or Democratic, to veto state tax-deductibility for health savings accounts. For another, our Medicaid reimbursement rates to providers are among the lowest in America – which leads providers to shift costs to private pay patients. Then, of course, there are our high-cost liability laws that have caused us to be referred to in The Wall Street Journal as "Alabama North."
Because these are Wisconsin-specific costs, and because you’re almost certainly competing for markets with businesses from other states, every day that goes by where the cost disadvantage continues is a bad day. In other words, it is not enough to focus on fighting off "HillaryCare" and other government-run health care plans. We need to correct the mistakes that have already been made.
I know it’s hard for entrepreneurs to get involved in politics and lawmaking. As I heard a small businessman say once, "We don’t have agendas, we have mortgages." But the other side is involved. And unless you are too, then the only folks that lawmakers will hear from are those whose agenda has led to some of the economic challenges you’re currently facing.
The good news, of course, is that you’re hardly alone. There are associations to join that can amplify your voice. There are, and I hesitate to say this in polite company, lobbyists who can carry your concerns to the Capitol or carry information back to you.
But get involved. It’s not enough for government to leave you alone, and you certainly can’t afford to leave it alone.
Mark Green is an attorney with the Godfrey & Kahn S.C. law firm and is a former four-term congressman from northeastern Wisconsin. He is also the Wisconsin Republican National Committeeman. He ran for governor against Jim Doyle in 2006.
