Mark Neumann's newest blogs

Good Question!

February 4th, 2010 by Mark Neumann - Comments (1)

There is a new report stating that Milwaukee has the third worst record in the nation, in terms of jobs lost over the last twelve months.  It is important to understand the following: the rest of America DOES NOT have it as bad as those in Milwaukee, where my two opponents both occupy positions of authority.  Only Detroit and Las Vegas were worse.

Milwaukee was once a city to be envied by so many in our nation and as governor one of my goals is to help restore our largest metropolitan area to its former greatness.

Yesterday we sent out a press release, asking Tom Barrett and Scott Walker to explain the job loss in Milwaukee over the last twelve months.  A respected reporter asked a very good question that I had not really thought about:

How did my companies and the entities that I work with fare during that same stretch? 

Good question!

At one of the home building companies, we sold 21 more homes in 2009 than 2008.  The industry uses three jobs per home built for job creation purposes, so that is an increase of 63 jobs year over year.

A second building company sold 6 additional homes in 2009 over 2008.  Add another 18 jobs.

We started one new company in the green energy area that accounts for at least three full time jobs at this point.  It is growing fast and likely will add 10-20 jobs over the next 18 months.

The not-for-profit schools that I work with grew significantly and conservatively added 35 new positions in order to serve the additional students.  We are expecting significant growth here also.

In another new endeavor, I have one computer programmer hired fulltime, developing software to fill a market need.  It remains to be seen if this will grow and employ more people but, if successful, this will become a company where the profits are donated to charitable entities as well.

Creating jobs is a lot of work but can be done even in a slower economy.  That is demonstrated, not only by our companies, but also by the fact that all but two metropolitan areas in America are doing better than Milwaukee.  This city deserves better and so does Wisconsin.  

All in all, I thought the question was a good one and warranted an answer.  Let us know your thoughts.

NEW Rasmussen Poll: Neumann 42, Barrett 38

January 29th, 2010 by Mark Neumann - Comments (0)

Folks, we received great news late today in the form of a new poll from Rasmussen. Surveying 500 likely Wisconsin voters, we beat Tom Barrett in a head-to-head matchup!

I am in the race for Governor because Wisconsin is heading down the wrong path. As a businessman, I have real-world experience in creating job opportunities – and as your Governor, job creation will be my highest priority.

This Rasmussen poll is independent verification that our message and our plans for a better tomorrow are resonating on Main Streets throughout Wisconsin - and that people are getting awfully tired of career politicians who only offer more of the same.

Thank you for your ongoing support. Together, we can take power away from the political insiders who have led Wisconsin astray - and return the power of the Governor’s office to you, the people.

On to victory and a Strong Wisconsin!

Click here to see the full report.

 

 

2010 Small Business Vitality Rankings

January 29th, 2010 by Mark Neumann - Comments (0)

 

The Business Journal of Milwaukee recently posted an article concerning the 2010 Small Business Vitality Rankings for the 100 Largest Metropolitan areas. According to the study, Milwaukee ranks 96 out of 100 for small business vitality, making it one of the worst cities for entrepreneurs to start a company.

These findings say a great deal about the business environment in our state’s largest city. A priority of the next Governor of Wisconsin must be to make Milwaukee business-friendly and attract new jobs to our state. Milwaukee’s current leadership has failed.

As Governor of Wisconsin, I will prioritize the retention of jobs already in the state, the creation of new jobs within existing companies, and the attraction of new businesses that will in turn bring quality job opportunities with them. I will look to restore Wisconsin's business environment, making it more attractive to small businesses, and Milwaukee must be an integral part of that plan. My initial focus will be to balance the budget, which will be achieved by reducing the growth rate of spending to 1% below the inflation. Once the budget is balanced, I plan on incrementally reducing tax rates across the board. Equally important, I will veto any bill that includes unnecessary regulations on business, such as cap and trade.

These actions will allow Milwaukee -- and the entire state of Wisconsin -- to emerge as a haven for small businesses to locate as well as a leader amongst the world’s largest cities.