John Radke’s Wisconsin roots run deep. His family came to our state in 1835 and his great, great grandfather built the Sanford House at Old World Wisconsin in 1858.
Today, he runs Bio-Research, a Milwaukee-area high tech company that is working to survive and grow in this difficult economy. Even with his long history here, the question Radke is facing now is whether he and his business can afford to stay in the state that has meant so much to his family over the years.
With Gov. Jim Doyle’s budget proposing billions in new taxes and outlandish legal reforms that threaten his business, Radke has begun surveying other states’ business climates. If the governor’s proposed budget becomes law, he fears he may have to relocate his business, and the jobs that go with it, out of state.
Radke is just one of over 150 Wisconsin business leaders to bring their concerns about state policies and proposals to the Wisconsin Jobs Now Task Force, a working group organized to address the lack of attention in Madison that is given to ideas to grow our economy and create jobs.
As the task force held meetings around the state earlier this year, we heard from small businesses in Rhinelander who fear the proposed changes to the prevailing wage requirements will mean they cannot even compete for government contracts. We heard from hospitals struggling to attract quality physicians due to medical liability changes and raids on the Injured Patients’ and Families’ Compensation Fund. We heard from an employee-owned business in Waukesha that may have to sell its headquarters to protect itself should the joint and several liability proposals become law. Again and again, we heard what needed to be done, and heard concerns that legislative leaders and the governor were moving the state in the opposite direction.
What was clear from each of the meetings is that the entrepreneurial spirit that helped build this state is still alive and well. From Kenosha to Phelps, there are leaders willing to put in the sweat, sacrifice, and effort it takes to create growing, job-providing businesses. These people are confident that our state can overcome our current struggles, if only they are given a fair chance to compete. Too often, though, those entrepreneurs feel held back by a state government that should be helping create an economic climate in which they can thrive, but instead only keeps adding to their burden.
These businesses are not mere anecdotes – their concerns are borne out in the facts. Since 2004, Wisconsin has dropped from 98 percent of the national average in per capita income to below 94 percent. Over the last five years, Wisconsin’s personal income growth ranked 47th in the nation. In survey after survey Wisconsin regularly ranks in the worst one-third of states in job growth and overall economic climate. The national economy is in rough shape, but Wisconsin is poorly positioned to just keep up with the rest of the country right now.
The good news is that these job creators don’t just have complaints, they have ideas. They want a reasonable legal climate that doesn’t hold them responsible for 100% of the costs for only being partially liable. They want a state that helps them get loans (not handouts) to expand and retool. They want an education system that turns out graduates with skills needed in the real world and offers training for workers looking to make themselves more attractive to job creators. And, perhaps more than anything else, they want the state to stand with them in tough times and not impose costly new tax increases in the midst of recession.
To us, these requests don’t seem like too much to ask, and as the legislative session moves forward we will be putting their concerns and ideas into concrete proposals designed to meet one goal – create jobs. We only hope the governor and legislative leaders in Madison will listen.
State Rep. Rich Zipperer (R-Pewaukee) and Sen. Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac) are the co-chairs of the Wisconsin Jobs Now Task Force.
