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.