Wisconsin has made progress on the economic development front in 2011, but more work needs to be done to boost job growth, two former commerce secretaries said on Sunday’s “UpFront with Mike Gousha,” a TV newsmagazine produced in conjunction with WisPolitics.com .
Cory Nettles, who served under Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, said Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature have had a good start on economic development and have set a new tone that has resonated with the business community. But he said the work on implementing recommendations of the “Be Bold Wisconsin” economic development task force, beyond reorganizing the Department of Commerce, has been “real incomplete” and more needs to be done in the coming year.
McCoshen, who served under GOP Gov. Tommy Thompson, also praised the early work of the Legislature and the creation of the Commerce Department’s replacement, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
“I think we are making progress,” McCoshen said. “At minimum we’ve stopped the bleeding. We haven’t quite turned the corner yet.”
McCoshen noted the state created a net of 16,600 jobs in 2011, but that the gubernatorial recall has created a sense of uncertainty about future business policy that may have hampered jobs progress.
“I think it’s having a negative impact on Wisconsin’s business climate,” McCoshen said.
But Nettles said he hasn’t heard such worries from businesspeople he’s talked to and tied slow growth to global economic concerns.
“I think it’s not the recalls,” Nettles said. “I think we’re still in an environment where the global economy is in great distress.”
The two stressed the importance of passing a venture capital bill to help fund start-up companies in order to spur growth. The measure has been held up by discussion of whether to include a controversial provision that would have insurance companies fund certified capital companies, McCoshen said, and that with Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald’s office recently announcing the measure would be dropped, the bill has a good chance of passing soon.
Nettles said that some 30 states have such a fund, and that it’s disappointing Wisconsin has yet to pass the legislation for what he described as a small amount of funding compared to other states.
“We’re talking about $100 million — very small, not even going to be enough,” Nettles said. “The fact that it’s taken all of this time is a great disappointment.”
Although the venture capital bill has been stalled, McCoshen noted the state has risen in national rankings as having a positive environment for entrepreneurs, and suggested Walker’s “Wisconsin is open for business” approach and policy changes such as tort reform are helping in that regard.
“We’re definitely headed in the right direction,” McCoshen said.
The two also discusses the importance of making macro-level changes to attract new businesses instead of offering individual incentives and urged the Legislature to remain focused on economic development and job creation.
Also on the program, political advertising expert Ken Goldstein said that with the likely gubernatorial recall, a competitive Senate primary and general election race, and Wisconsin being a presidential battleground, the state will be inundated with political ads in 2012.
Watch the program: http://www.wisn.com/upfront/index.html
