Monday, July 13, 2009

Backward we go in Dairyland - JSOnline

Backward we go in Dairyland - JSOnline

Full WPRI Article

WPRI is a "free market oriented" think tank, so assume a particular point of view. However, they produce analysis based on data and thoughtful argument, rather than empty rhetoric. Whatever the solutions might look like, I think the problems pointed out in this article are central to the future of the state. Republican candidate for Governor, Scott Walker, tweeted both these pieces. (On Twitter Walker is @scottkwalker and Mark Newman is @StrongWisconsin . So far as I know Gov. Doyle isn't on Twitter.)

Gov. Doyle's office responds:

Asked to respond, the office of Gov. Doyle, a Democrat, dismissed the Alabama comparison. Wisconsin ranked 24th for median wages, while Alabama came in 45th, in a 2008 Bureau of Labor Statistics survey that covers all occupations, Doyle's office noted.

While the WPRI points out that Wisconsin had zero job growth from 2000 to 2005, Doyle's office said that period includes the 2001 recession, which predates Doyle's stint as governor. Doyle took office in January 2003.

"Job growth improved beginning in 2002," Doyle's office said, citing BLS statistics that show 2.1% job growth from 2002-'05 and 1.5% in 2005-'07.

The governor's office concedes that Wisconsin job growth lagged the national average under his watch, but said Wisconsin "is comparable to other Great Lakes states in recent history."

"They cherry-pick statistics," Doyle spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner said of the WPRI report. "This is a right-wing group that's putting together an attack."

12 comments:

  1. Though some statistics from the article may have been picked, many are still frightening. For having some of the best education and university systems in the nation, the economy in WI should be at least in the top half of the states (in my opinion). I also think that the discrepancy between Madison being ranked number 2 and 158 in cities with job prospects statistic was startling, because though one of the two stats may not be right, the fact that there is this much of fluctuation points to confusion in numbers somewhere. I really hope that actual unemployment and job growth rates aren't being fixed so that we, the residents of Wisconsin, are tricked into thinking our economy is progressing more than it actually is. This would be very troubling to know...

    - Luke D

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  2. I always thought Wisconsin was an ideal place to live, but I guess that's because I spend most of my time in Madison, and Madison seems virtually untouched by the recession. It's frightening to know that in reality we're lagging behind most of the other states. With regards to unemployment, the closing of Chrysler and General Motors doesn't help those statistics, and that's out of the Wisconsin's legislature's and governor's hands. If people looked further into this, they would probably notice that no state has been doing surprisingly well, albeit with some exceptions. It's a tough time for everybody, and I feel like this article was just preaching to the choir. We already know we aren't doing well, it's not like the article was telling us something we didn't know. It just informed us that we're doing worse comparably to other states, but to compare us to Alabama is a far reach. Like I said, I think many of the bad statistics have something to do with the Chrysler and General Motors plants, and because of those closings many workers were transferred to plants in other states. We can't have the mindset that we're doomed, we just need to keep looking forward.

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  3. We have had some hard setbacks, but if we continue to address the root ofthe problem, one root at a time,we can prevent any further grotesque growth in our state. It takes people to be aware, and like Elle M has stated, Madison has been virtually untouched by the recession; so it seems anyways. I have a hard time knowing that Wisconsin lacks in important areas, but I have faith that Wisconsin will do well.

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  4. While Wisconsin experiences a decline in economic growth, so does the rest of the nation; it is a bit over the top to conclude that Wisconsin is doomed to be the declining Alabama of the north. It seems unfair and unreasonable to compare Wisconsin’s per capita income to other states, considering the cost of living varies from place to place. However, statistics do not lie (even though they are only a few). The fact that more people are moving out of Wisconsin in search of higher paying jobs elsewhere is disconcerting. My hometown is a small town of about 8,000 people, located in northern Wisconsin. Every time I visit, I comment on how the town is in trouble – more and more independent businesses are going out of business, as Wal-Mart’s sales continue to rise, and retired couples move there to enjoy the relaxation by the lakes, yet the youth of the town are going elsewhere for better job opportunities. Small towns of northern Wisconsin are becoming aged towns, and that should be of great concern. – Sarah K.

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  5. I agree with Luke that these statistics are frightening, specifically troublesome is the idea that a large portion of the unemployed population was simply taken out of the statistics to make the unemployment rate and low job growth seem not as bad as it is. By Wisconsin not only having a bad economic climate but then lying about it, I think this makes investors more reluctant to invest in Wisconsin. No investor wants to think the state economy has hit the bottom and then find out that the economic climate is much worse. How can financial stability be felt by investors if they are unsure about how the state economy really is when the government is lying about it?

    I also agree that outside of Madison, where most people are employed by the state government, you can feel how bad the economy is. However, it is not surprising how bad Wisconsin's economy has gotten. We live in an expanding, evolving, and internationally based world. In Wisconsin we live a bit in the past, there are few global firms other then Wal-Mart and we do fund industries which are not economically successful for the mere fact that is what we have always done. For me, when I graduate I will be moving out of the state because there are no international jobs here that allow me to pursue what I am interested in. By Wisconsin catering to state interest groups we are spending our money in ways not beneficial to helping our economy rebound. There is a part in the budget: the job tax credit that looks good on paper for helping the economy, that would give back 10% of wages paid back to comapnies that are providing new jobs. Not only is this credit not budgeted for in this budget but companies will not even see any money from this legislation for two years (if the credit will even be funded in that budget). Therefore what incentive is there for companies to create jobs? There may never be any benefit to these job-creating industries.

    Growing up in the 90's it was great to see Wisconsin prospering, so now it is very sad to see it floundering in the present recession with no end in sight. However, if the government can stop ignoring the problems and actually fix it, like Iowa is doing, I have no doubt Wisconsin will rebound. Maybe we should just look at the negatives if that will finally push the government to do something. Being optimistic does not make the bad statistics go away, rather they should be recognized and fixed.

    -Lauren C.

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  6. Wisconsin's economy may be trailing the national average, but in no way is this news and in large part it is due to the national recession not jut the statewide polices of Governor Jim Doyle. Before Doyle came to office in 2003 Wisconsin's economy was behind the national average in pretty much every category (except unemployment rate), and according to the article it just seems as though Doyle has maintained the status quo (in relation to the rest of the failing American economy). Therefore, I wouldn't say that Jim Doyle got Wisconsin into this mess, rather he just kept on pace with the way Wisconsin was heading before he got elected. Which, is not that great of a reelection campaign slogan. And maybe Doyle shouldn't get reelected because of this fact, but lets not jump to conclusions and say that his poor economic polices have scarred the Wisconsin economy with irreparable damage. It is tough to make money anywhere these days and if since 2003 Doyle had turned the Wisconsin economy into a never ending money machine he probably could have challenged Obama for the presidential nomination.

    Jake V

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  7. Although I know this article was written by a more Right leaning group, it is nonetheless interesting to look at the statistics and realize that our state may be headed into some trouble in the coming years.

    I am in strong agreement that Wisconsin need to do more. I have had several conversations with staffers in my office and others that have discussed the decline of jobs in the state. General Motors chose to remove its plant in Janesville because (among other reasons) our state could not offer more incentives to keep it here. It subsequently left the state and left 2,600 families out of a job. In an increasingly challenging and competitive climate for U.S. businesses, our state needs to be increasingly competitive as well. I believe it would do our state good to repel the corporate income tax provision again as was done in 2003 - businesses would have more capital and hopefully that would translate into more jobs.

    However, this cannot be accomplished in a time of unprecedented spending by our state government. Spending in the 2009-2011 budget has increased 6.2 percent. While the government added an additional 200 state jobs, it did very little to help private business and their job growth. I am not staying all government spending is bad by any means. I am a strong proponent in investing in items such as higher education. But there are some items (like perhaps the new transit line from Madison to Milwaukee to Chicago) that are not necessary in a time of economic hardships. Even changes made in the budget, like to the Prevailing Wage Laws that have job-killing cost increases and non-compliance penalties for private businesses, make our state very unattractive to the private sector. The facts in the article and elsewhere show that Wisconsin is becoming a hostile environment to do business and I hope to see change as we continue to see our 9.2 percent unemployment rate (as of January 2009) climb.

    A final note about the article that I do not necessarily have an answer for: We should be very concerned as a state in trying to retain skilled workers. Large cities such as the Twin Cities and Chicago are sucking these workers out. Somehow, we must attract businesses that offer high skilled jobs and turn this disturbing trend around.

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  8. After reading this article, it once again drew my attention to the tough economic times that this state is currently (and has been) facing. At times I find it hard to remember how tough times really are when we are one, students who are trying to focus on furthering their education and possibly not looking too much into the job market, and two, living in the bubble that is the city of Madison (which others noted above). Coming from a small northern Wisconsin town, I have seen first-hand what this decade has brought (or rather not brought) in terms of economic growth, and frankly, it is startling. The unemployment rates in the northern half of the state are appalling and it seems as though these poor conditions for the job market are never going to improve. There is a serious problem in our state, in which I agree with Stephen, with a brain drain that is taking our educated citizens to the cities of Chicago and Minneapolis.

    Although it is obvious that we are all going through a rough time, I think it should be the state's focus in the coming years to bring big business to this state which so desperately needs higher paying jobs. Expanding a little on the brain drain idea, I believe that it is clear that our graduates, for example, are leaving this state because there are really only 2 areas that can provide high enough paying jobs to pay-off college loans: Madison and Milwaukee. It needs to be a focus of the state of Wisconsin in the next few years to bring in jobs that can keep highly-skilled workers in this state, especially towards the northern half of the state, which most seem to forget about with Madison and Milwaukee being located in the southern half.

    This article brings up very good points as far as the staggeringly low economic growth that this state has seen over the past 10 years or so. However, I do not think that I would go so far as to support the idea that Wisconsin is facing the same level of problems as the state of Alabama. After researching some projects for my office's policy department, I think it is important to recognize that while business is a very vital part to this state, Wisconsin still has many positives as far as other statistics go, including education. Now it is a matter of striking a better balance between keeping up with our health care and education spending with trying to stimulate economic growth in our state.

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  9. It was suprising to read this article and find out how 30,000 workers disappeared from statistics after the Dept. of Workforce Development re-estimated the workforce. It seems like a tricky way to keep unemployment figures low in Wisconsin and to avoid conflict with Wisconsinites. It is suprising that Wisconsin has the third largest emigration rate in the country. It seems shortsighted that the State Government has been so hostile to discussing state direction. It seems that the state must communicate more effectively with busniess executives to try and re-start Wisconsin's faltering economy.

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  10. I think the big question Wisconsin is asking itself is: how do we build a more competitive economy? Time will tell if the new budget plan and economic stimulus package will work for Wisconsin. In regards to how Wisconsin gave its economic development money in 2008 mostly to GM in a failed attempt to keep the Janesville plant open (I believe about $2,000,000), wasn’t the goal of Wisconsin Act 125 to increase the accountability and transparency in business transactions? I believe I came across a document in our office noting that changes were made to prevent such a situation from happening again by ensuring that if the government gives money to a business to help create new jobs and they fail to handle this money appropriately then the government will get its money back, but unfortunately this changes were passed after the fact.

    I agree with Elle M. that yes the whole country is facing tough economic set backs, but the fact that Wisconsin is doing so poorly compared to its neighboring states it is in competition with for business and job growth and losing residents to these states only makes its situation worse. I believe that Wisconsin should follow the lead of states like Iowa by focusing on growth potential and implementing the cluster system of industry, as recommended by experts from UW; however, perhaps Wisconsin should also hire independent consultants to help figure out what changes need to be made to help the state’s economy since the article notes that Wisconsin failed to meet the benchmarks set in reports created in four UW-sponsored economic summits between 2000 and 2003.

    I also think it is interesting that Wisconsin has turned to foreign investors for train contracts. Hopefully this deal with Talgo will help attract other investors - even if they are from overseas - and give Wisconsin’s economy the jump start it needs.

    -Leslie W.

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  11. I agree with Stephen that the corporate income tax should not be included in a budget of a state that needs new businesses to save our floundering economy. If we are purely looking at transportation costs for some of the biggest manufacturing companies Wisconsin is fairly inclement location to have any headquarters as compared to the costs, especially for international fare. I get why many Wisconsin residents do not like the idea of foreign businesses coming in and investing in our home state, like the train contracts with Talgo that Leslie pointed out. I think it is because Wisconsin was built on the hardworking backs of small businesses that grew into larger ones, and the idea of foreign competition coming in and stealing business;this is not a welcome idea especially since the owners would not be locals. However, I think Wisconsin would be fortunate to have foreign investors, we do not have threats to national security that prhibit ports and oil rigs on the coasts from being foreign supported. What are they going to steal...our cheese? What exactly what would be really lose from a new business venture? I see only gains for the economy. These deals should be seen purely as business ventures and not taken to be foreign competitors. To answer the question posed earlier about why states around us are pulling in recent Wisconsin graduates and creating a brain drain from Wisconsin, I think it is because these states do take advantage of international options. Wisconsinsites are hardworking people and with our workforce I think if we could take advantage of foreign investors, maybe take part in the new green companies, our economy would be greatly helped and unemployment would go down. As for Doyle, yes he kept unemployment at the status quo but he also lied about it. Maybe this lead to less saving and more consuming since people thought the economy was better off then it was, but that is unfair and devious. Shocking changes should not be held from people's knowledge if it can be helped, if given more information sooner people may have been better able to budget and live further within their means.

    -Lauren C.

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  12. The main thing about this article that startles me is the fact that the manner in which statistics can be taken can change the way in which they are viewed so much. Whether these numbers are a right wing attack or not, it still seems as though Wisconsin being ranked number 2 and number 158 in job prospect cities shows how statistics can be skewed to promote a certain agenda. Data does not necessarily even have to be falsified to create different impressions amongst viewers.

    I hope that in the near future the state of Wisconsin can promote growth in the job market through new kinds of tax legislation that draws employers to the state. By making Wisconsin a desirable market for companies we may be able to gain an edge on other states in job growth.

    -Kris G

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