What issue should be at the top of the priority list for state and local officials, and also area business leaders? It’s talent.
In order for any state or region to thrive, it takes talent and lots of it. Skilled and smart people are needed to fill jobs, start and lead businesses and develop new innovations.
The places that do the best to develop, attract and retain talent are the ones that will prosper the most and will have the highest quality of life. Southeastern Wisconsin is competing with every large metro area in the world to develop and attract talent, people who could choose to live anywhere and are needed to make our economy go.
Wisconsin’s population isn’t growing fast enough to produce the talent that the state needs to thrive. The state’s population only grew 3.6% from 2010 to 2020 and grew just 1.1% from 2020 to 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The city of Milwaukee’s population has been falling since the 1960s.
Far more alarming is a report from the state Department of Administration earlier this year that said Wisconsin’s population is expected to decline by nearly 200,000 residents by 2050, due to declining birth rates and the aging of baby boomers.
You would think elected officials in the state and region would have a sense of urgency to do something about this, but there is little sign that they get it and some positions they take are just contradictory to the need to develop and attract talent.
To develop the talent our state and region need, it’s essential to have a strong education system. Yes, that means taxpayers investing in education. It’s vital to support public schools throughout the state, but that doesn’t mean public schools should be the only education option.
If you live in a community with quality public schools, you should be extremely grateful. But many families that are dissatisfied with the public schools in their community understandably seek alternatives. Affluent families can afford to send their kids to private schools of their choice. But without school choice programs lower-income families don’t have that option. It’s not fair or equitable to deny kids in lower-income families the opportunity to attend a quality school. School choice should be supported and expanded throughout the state. As taxpayers we should invest in educating our children, but we should be funding students, not school systems. Give all lower-income families that can’t afford to pay for private school the option of sending their children to private or charter schools, funded by the tax dollars allocated to educate those students.
We also need to invest in the University of Wisconsin System and the state’s technical college systems. Too often the university system comes under fire for political reasons. There are legitimate concerns about the cost of higher education these days and the burden that student loans are placing on borrowers. But the bottom line is we need a top-flight higher education system to attract and retain the best and brightest workers of the next generation. That needs to always be a high priority.
Immigration is one of the most controversial issues in America today. President Trump has cracked down harshly on illegal immigration. Let’s face it, illegal immigration has long been an issue. The system has been a chaotic mess at the southern border. Simply put, there’s no way that someone should be able to enter the country without going through a legal port of entry and having to identify themselves so a basic background check can be done.
However, the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration has been way over the top. Secure the border, yes. Deport violent criminals who are here illegally, absolutely. But heavy-handed tactics to remove peaceful individuals is counterproductive. It’s having a chilling effect on America’s image around the world and making foreigners less willing to visit and come work here. There has to be a better path to citizenship for law-abiding, hard-working individuals.
Many in the “America First” crowd want to not only see illegal immigration stopped, but also want legal immigration drastically reduced so U.S. companies will be forced to “hire American” only. That is an extremely shortsighted view.
America is a country of immigrants, and our economy still needs them to not only fill many of the nation’s blue-collar jobs but also many of the jobs requiring the highest skill levels. We should seek to attract the hardest working people and the best and brightest individuals to come and contribute to our society.
Lastly, beyond developing talent and attracting talent, we must also work to retain talent. That means providing a place with a high quality of life where people want to live. It means public and private investments in arts and culture, sports, parks and anything else that makes life worth living.
In everything we do, we need to maintain a laser-like focus on winning the global war for talent.
