October 2009, My View
Rules for a new governor
State Leadership By Ken Harwood
As I write this, I have been contemplating Governor Doyle's decision not seek a third term in office. I am not sure what that means for the state, but I do know we need to focus on jobs and the economy as we move forward. Before you think this will become partisan, I should also suggest that no party has a lock on the pro-business economy. In fact the most successful times in recent history were when no one party was in control.
Let’s look at the Clinton years. A strong conservative influence in the House and Senate offset the pressure for a more liberal agenda from the White House. We ended up with less spending, a balanced budget, stable taxes and a pretty fair environment for business.
When one party comes into power, either party, we see deficit spending, programs that are rushed to implementation, partisanship of the worst kind and policy that caters to the next election instead of the best interest of the state or country. When an agenda can be moved forward without the benefit of negotiation and compromise the electorate loses. Finally frustration sets in and the pendulum swings in the other direction.
An open election provides us with an opportunity to move forward a pro-business agenda, a level playing field that allows businesses in the state to grow and thrive. Here are a few basic ideas we should ask our candidates to consider:
A balanced budget
Deficit spending places demand on future budgets and creates an unstable environment for business. Even when programs are pro business, companies are concerned about an unstable tax future. When some suggest that Wisconsin is a high tax state, the numbers for business suggest we are not even in the top ten, but business remains concerned that taxes in the state are a moving target. Deficits and instability may be worse than higher taxes.
Prioritized spending
We often look at each program we fund with tunnel vision. A great program may pale in comparison to another program that has to be shelved to pay for it; unfortunately the current solution is often to pay for both. I have rarely heard of cost justification when considering government spending, in fact I am not sure the legislature even has a way to measure the success, or lack thereof, of the programs they fund.
Spend one-time money once
A state gets a million dollars to improve a program, the state hires 20 new employees, in year two of the program we still have the employees and no money to pay for them. Of course more recently we have seen onetime stimulus monies spent on already funded programs to shift funds for other uses.
Offer regional solutions
Wisconsin must allow and encourage communities to work together to secure business. Regions need to provide incentives, infrastructure and transportation to secure new companies and support the growing ones. As long as Community A and Community B are competing to secure companies, Wisconsin will never have a Silicon Valley.
Remember the horse you rode in on
Wisconsin has led the country in the production of milk, paper, beer, cheese and corn. We have recently lost beer and milk, we will lose paper, and cheese is at risk. While bio, technology and ethanol sound good, it makes little sense to chase these while losing the businesses that have made the state strong in the first place.
Politicians tend to work with those who make reasonable suggestions and offer real solutions. While I was working on a campaign a few years back the candidate told me that he listened to people with money but he worked with those who had good ideas.
Ken Harwood is the editor of Wisconsin Development.com and founder of FutureWisconsin.com a site selection tool for Wisconsin business. The former mayor of Neenah, Ken is currently an alderman in Verona, and contributing writer to Cirex, Commercial Investment Real Estate Exchange-WI.