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More Taxes in Milwaukee County

March 9th, 2010 by Mark Neumann - Comments (0)

The Journal Sentinel reports recently that the Milwaukee County Transit System ridership had fallen 9% last year. This is a 35-year low for Milwaukee County.  The ridership is off from over 52 million in 2000 to just over 39 million in 2009, a drop in business of 25%.

In government the conclusion is so different than in small business that it is infuriating to even consider.  Let me quote the responses so as to not misrepresent their ideas.

First government response:  “The 9% ridership drop adds urgency to a push for new state legislation that would create an expanded regional transit authority and authorize a new .5% sales tax to fund the bus system.”  This plan has been proposed in the state legislature. 

Second government response: Milwaukee County’s highest elected political leader responded to the report as well.  Quoting the article, “Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker blamed the economy.”  Scott Walker, “If people don’t have jobs…it makes it less likely they are going to be riding the bus to and from work….we’ve maintained our routes…” 

This story draws the stark contrast between government thinking and small business owner thinking.

First, increasing taxes to solve the problem is not an option so it is not even considered.  Only in government would they look at this situation, losing 25% of their business, and conclude raising taxes is the answer.  Ridiculous.  As governor I will carry the small business owner attitude into office.  Raising taxes is not an option!

Second as a small business owner we have to deal with the economy and figure out how to fight our way through the downturn.  It cannot be used as an excuse for failure!  Making excuses is also not an option in small business.

As a small business owner in the home building industry, we also experienced the same economic downturn that Milwaukee faces.  Our solution was to adapt to the given market conditions and scale our costs to the size of business we were doing.  In our businesses we recognized the problem and adjusted our operations to meet the market conditions, something government obviously does not consider doing.

Milwaukee County needs to set their priorities within the limits of their budget. If the public transportation system in Milwaukee County is as important as its proponents say it is, then funds need to be redirected from other, lower priority uses. Taxes are the sole province of government, and so public leaders think they can raise taxes or invent new ones every time they break their budget on lower priority or less-than-essential programs.

I respectfully disagree with an approach that doesn't look to reduce costs for a government service that even the government concedes is decreasingly used.  Raising taxes and making excuses would not cut it in any small business in Wisconsin and it should not be tolerated in government thinking either! 

Send me your thoughts.

Bringing Jobs to Wisconsin, A Business Approach

March 8th, 2010 by Mark Neumann - Comments (1)

Bringing Jobs to Wisconsin

A Business Approach

It is no secret that Wisconsin has seen a devastating drop in the workforce. According to one recent report, there were 176,700 fewer jobs in December 2009 than there were just two years before. Fixing this problem is the top challenge we face as a state.

As a small businessman, I face many problems and I know one thing for sure. The responsibility rests on my shoulders to solve those problems as the leader of the organization.

I fully understand the banks that loan us money will hold me accountable. I also understand our employees are counting on me to keep the business going so the jobs stay.

As Governor, the role is essentially the same. I would expect to be held accountable by the people of the great state of Wisconsin, just as our banks now hold me accountable in the business world.

The answer to job creation in Wisconsin is to apply a business approach.

Step One: Identify and understand the problem. Various studies do a great job of defining the problem. A study prepared by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Economic Development states that in a 12-month period, Milwaukee lost 7.03% of their workforce. This amounted to a loss of 18,333 jobs. This is the second worst job loss among the largest 50 metropolitan areas in America.

A second study, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, states that the Milwaukee Metropolitan area lost 5.7% of its workforce in 12 months, making it the third worst in America.

A third study, the 2010 Small Business Vitality Rankings for the 100 largest metropolitan areas in America, ranked Milwaukee as 96 out of 100.

A forth study done by Forbes offers a state-by state analysis of the nation’s business climate. Wisconsin ranks 47th on the list.

The problem is clear whether looking at the state’s largest metropolitan area, or the state as a whole. We are faring far worse than the nation as a whole in this recession and losing too many jobs.

Step Two: Define a vision to solve the problem. My vision is clear: we must work to make Wisconsin the best place in the world to do business and to attract more jobs than any other state in the nation.

Step Three: Develop a plan to achieve the vision. As Governor, I would do the following to develop the plan to achieve the vision.

A. I would assemble a group of successful small and large business people to serve on a state economic development team.

B. I would assign this team the task of carefully studying the top five states and metropoitan areas for business and job development, analyzing the studies and reports we are seeing and clearly identifying the factors that cause Wisconsin to be viewed so poorly as a place to do business.

C. As we assemble the information, I would apply my own decades of experience creating jobs, building businesses and dealing with the hurdles that our government presents to businesses.

D. I would then work with the team to identify at least twenty defined objectives that, when achieved, will make Wisconsin the best place in the world to do business.

E. I would then set a time period for achieving the objectives and a means of measuring success.

F. I would then put the plan online and ask for added input from people around Wisconsin.

G. I would then implement the plan with the full expectation that the citizens of Wisconsin will hold me accountable for the outcome.

Step Four: Market the plan. I would properly fund a marketing arm of the economic team to let the business world know that the business climate in Wisconsin is changing for the better. I would provide as much funding as may be needed for this purpose and require that the measurable return on this investment will be at least ten dollars in new tax revenue raised for each dollar spent on marketing.

Step Five: Attracting businesses: With the plan in effect, I would next target specific business types and personally commit time to being involved in the negotiations to bring the businesses to Wisconsin. My private sector experience should again prove useful.

Step Six: Measure outcomes. My administration will measure progress quarterly in terms of achieving both the objectives as defined, and the overall vision.

In the last two years, when housing starts declined dramatically, we rolled up our sleeves and implemented a plan similar to what is described above. Ultimately, it worked – leading to jobs actually being created even in the middle of a recession that was especially hard on the housing industry.

Folks, we can do it again at the state level. We can create an economic climate in Wisconsin that is a model for the nation and the world. We need a business model, and someone with the private sector experience, to make it happen.

Our Latest Commercial: Giving Back

March 5th, 2010 by Mark Neumann - Comments (0)