Milwaukee Biz Blog

It is time to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. As one who is recovering from several surgeries, and the accompanying pain that goes with them, marijuana should be available for pain relief under doctor's supervision.

For years, doctors were stingy with the amount of pain medication given in the hospital and later at home. That seems to be changing, in recent years, painkillers are much more liberally administered to those who need them. Good pain management is proven to speed up the healing process.

Although I am not a marijuana user, I've read reports that people with certain types of cancers and other types of debilitating diseases find pain and anti-nausea relief when smoking marijuana. If we could devise a low cost way to deliver it to appropriate patients through prescription from a doctor, and purchased from a legal outlet, like a pharmacy, I am all in favor of it. Users would have to obey the existing traffic laws and would not be able to resell it to family and friends.

Many of the current drugs we take come from plants. In this case, you would get the relief directly from the plant itself, rather than in pill or liquid form.

If you agree with this point of view, contact your Wisconsin legislator. They are currently discussing this issue.

Alan Gaudynski, president of Alan L. Gaudynski & Associates Inc. in Pewaukee, formerly was the vice president of corporate communications for Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin.

Northwestern Mutual has been a member of the greater Milwaukee area for more than 150 years. Over that time we've learned that a strong, vibrant community is good for business. It provides a larger talent pool from which to hire; has more local companies where we can procure resources; and creates a pleasant environment where our employees can live, work and raise families.

Yes, Milwaukee has much to offer to its residents, but step away from the lakefront, the arts and culture, the great sports teams, the downtown business area, and you'll encounter another side of our community - people living in poverty.

The latest census data from the 2008 American Community Survey showed that almost a quarter of all Milwaukeeans are living in poverty, which is defined as a family of four having a household income of $22,500 or less. Nearly one in three children in our city is living in poverty. Milwaukee's poverty rate is 11th-highest among U.S. cities with a population of 250,000 or more.

Poverty is an enormously complex issue with many underlying causes. But we can all do something to help confront it. Whether small or large, Milwaukee area businesses are a major part of our city’s livelihood, and should be part of the solution to reduce poverty.

The good news is that the business community doesn't have to work alone. Nonprofits providing an array of services have the expertise and skills sets to address poverty at the grassroots level. Combine their efforts with the business community's resources and intellectual capital, and we can make a substantial, sustainable impact.

For decades, Northwestern Mutual has supported nonprofits that help enhance the economic landscape of and serve those less fortunate in our hometown. We are proud to have a 100-year partnership with the United Way of Greater Milwaukee. This year we've increased our contributions to Breaking the Cycle of Poverty up to $1.1 million. This United Way initiative provides funding to those nonprofits that help individuals and families lift themselves out of the perils of poverty. These programs include early childhood education, job training and retention, financial stability and teen pregnancy prevention, just to name a few.

Some of you in the business community are in a position to make significant donations, while others may not at this time due to the tolls of the recession. But there are other ways to be part of the solution. Encourage your employees to volunteer. Run a workplace fundraising campaign. Organize a food drive at work. Adopt a nonprofit that is in need of the services, products and/or an expertise that you and your employees can provide. Collectively, for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations can move our community into the right direction.

At Northwestern Mutual, we've learned that being involved not only has a positive impact on Milwaukee, but also on our employees and the company itself. Through volunteering, our employees have developed leadership and teamwork skills, and a heightened sense of pride for the work they do. For example, each year more than 200 employees volunteer to help lead the corporate United Way campaign, in addition to their day-to-day duties. For these employees, it offers an opportunity to use their talents and creativity in new ways, while building relationships with employees across the company. These are all important components to having an engaged workforce.

Numerous academic studies support this point. For example, a 2008 article in American Chronicle found that 81 percent of consumers are more likely to buy a product or service that is associated with a cause they care about. In addition, a 2007 Volunteer IMPACT survey by Deloitte and Touche USA revealed that nearly two-thirds of respondents would prefer to work for companies that offer opportunities to contribute their talents to nonprofits.

It is a simple fact: When you support your community, you are supporting your business as well. To donate, start a workplace campaign or to learn more about how you can help, go to www.unitedwaymilwaukee.org. 

Deanna Tillisch is vice president of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation.

The so-called "Cable Consumer Repair Bill," introduced Tuesday by State Rep. Gary Hebl, would gut the successful Video Competition Act that was enacted in January of 2008.
It;s been less than two years since the Wisconsin State Legislature passed the Video Competition Act, which threw open the doors of cable competition across Wisconsin.
While the benefits of increased competition don't happen overnight, we've already seen definitive progress on opening up the cable marketplace. This bill has already generated real competition, helped improve prices, created hundreds of new jobs, spurred millions in investment in infrastructure, improved customer service and expanded consumers¹ access to new video providers, services and features all across the state.
By trying to overhaul the system now, this new bill will turn back the clock and return Wisconsin to the days of rapidly increasing prices, less competition, fewer options and a disjointed marketplace.
This new bill goes further than just re-fighting old legislative battles; it imposes new hidden taxes on every cable customer, grows state government, creates additional barriers for new companies to enter the marketplace and imposes new, unneeded penalties that could reduce consumer choice. In addition, it would discourage future investment at a time when the State Legislature needs to be working to deploy new capital in the state, negatively impacting job growth.
Now is not the time for an anti-consumer bill that caters to a narrow set of special interests. We need to allow the current legislation to continue to do its job.
Wired Wisconsin is a non-profit coalition of concerned individuals, businesses and organizations who are working to put our state on the cutting edge of technology. For more information, visit www.wiredwisconsin.org.
 
Thad Nation is executive director of Wired Wisconsin, a nonprofit organization advocating for increased video competition in Wisconsin.

Editor’s note: This blog is the text of the speech about the economic health of the southeastern Wisconsin region by Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, at the MMAC’s recent all-member meeting held at the Bradley Center.

Before tackling our agenda, we need to be honest with where we stand - no hallucinating.
Ten years ago, MMAC compiled its first report comparing Milwaukee to 20 other metros, using objective indicators to measure the region’s progress, both over time and against this peer group. 

To know where we are going, we must know where we stand. Today we are releasing our 2009 Benchmarking report. Here is a brief snapshot of five key indicators that tell the story.
Perhaps the purest measure of economic strength is our per capita Gross Metropolitan Product, which stands at $53,000 dollars and ranks us seventh among our 20 peers. How do we continue to grow?
Median Household Income measures the base unit of economic health - the household. At $54,000, we are at the midpoint in our peer group.  How do we raise the region’s income level?
Net Population Migration is a vote-with-your-feet measure of a region’s appeal. Since 2000, we had a net loss of 50,000 people. Other regions in the Midwest like Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and Columbus, have gained population. It can be done.  How do we attract and retain talent?
Prior to the recession, our Job Growth was only half the rate of our peers. By the end of this year, we are likely to fall even further behind.  How do we generate more high-value, high wage jobs?
The final measure, Educational Attainment, may be the biggest determinant of future prosperity.  In the last eight years, the region had a 4-percent increase in the number of adults with a bachelor’s degree, growing from 27 to 31 percent. This places us at the median of our peers. A sustainable quality of life is based on educated and skilled citizens.  How can we help more students to be college-ready?
Our agenda will provide answers to these questions.  Overall, there is a small margin between gaining ground and losing ground with these metrics. 

To ensure our agenda is on track, we asked for your input through a series of interviews and surveys.
Eighty-five percent of the 300 participants were CEOs or business owners. Here, in your own words, are some of the representative responses:

• “High taxes, corporate and personal, are part of the disconnect between elected officials and business owners.” (20-year high.)
• “Our greatest long-term threat is the cycle of poor education and parenting of our youth.  he City’s public school system is a travesty.” (Harsh, maybe, but very representative.)
• “Our challenge is drawing young people into manufacturing. The stigma of a dirty facility and grimy jobs does not match up with our plant floor or the opportunity to earn good money.” (No. 1 state in manufacturing jobs/No. 2 region.)
• “Our top issue is regional growth – we must think regionally in all we do.”
  (There’s more to pull us together than to keep us apart.)
• “When the issues become bigger than we are, when we feel we can’t influence them, then we move elsewhere.” (With your help we CAN influence the issues.)

While our region has much to offer, this feedback reflects cracks in the foundation. You spoke, we listened, and we are taking action through our Blueprint for Economic Prosperity.

Our first Blueprint goal is a tax and regulatory climate that positions Wisconsin for growth.
We heard from hundreds of business leaders speaking out against the referendum mandating paid sick leave on all employers doing business in the city. This was a galvanizing issue for the membership and led to MMAC’s lawsuit to overturn this ordinance. Our success in the first round of court leaves us cautiously optimistic as we face an appeal.
I want to publicly thank Mayor Barrett and Common Council President Hines for supporting our position, keeping Milwaukee “Open for Business.”
Tax increases levied in this economic environment topped member concerns. Eighty-three percent of our survey respondents believe that our tax burden has a negative impact on economic development and evidently Forbes agrees, ranking us 48th best for business climate.  In your own words, it’s like having your house on fire and the fire department responding with a gas tanker.
If we continue to raise taxes, without calculating the impact on job creation, Wisconsin will continue to take two steps back for every step forward.
Case in point: In a difficult state budget year, we made headway with a number of targeted tax exemptions that will encourage investment, business starts, and job creation.  Our thanks to the governor and state legislature for their work on these credits. 

At the same time, the state budget increased taxes on job growth by $745 million dollars through capital gains, combined reporting and personal income tax hikes. And these taxes provide just over 1% of the state’s $56 billion biennial budget. Couldn’t we have reduced spending a bit more?
MMAC’s Tax Committee will review the state and local fiscal structures and propose specific changes that foster growth while continuing to provide needed government programs.
Education and Workforce.  Our goal is a workforce powered by innovative, knowledgeable and skilled individuals who are productive, lifelong learners.
Nowhere is change needed more than in the K12 education system in the City of Milwaukee.  Milwaukee Public Schools graduation rate is 41 percent. We have a greater percentage of high school dropouts than people with college degrees.
That is why MMAC remains focused on improving educational outcomes.
We will continue to support a robust system of schools where parents can exercise choice. MMAC has been a leader in this effort since the early 90s. Today, more than 26,000 students are enrolled in choice and charter schools in the city. These options have created more high-performing schools and resulted in fewer dropouts.
Last session we worked with Milwaukee state representatives to defeat legislation that would have lowered the cap on the number of students who can attend a choice school.

Our priority next session is to build a bi-partisan coalition to restore, and ultimately increase the funding for choice and charter schools to a level comparable to MPS. This was a priority with 84 percent of our members.
Education reform has never been a one-part strategy for MMAC.  We have long supported MPS and we will continue to do so.  We’ve been active in school board elections; helped raise $17 million through a Gates grant to develop smaller high schools; and contributed $15 million for MPS graduates to attend college. More recently, MMAC’s Council of Small Business Executives raised $70,000 for reading enrichment programs.
But in order to make significant, system-wide change, MPS needs a new governance structure. COSBE has taken a leadership role in pushing for this change. 
We support efforts of the governor and mayor to draw a clear line of accountability with MPS.  Specifically, having the Mayor choose the Superintendent, and take responsibility for collective bargaining, the budget and tax levy.  Mayor, it may be lonely at the top, but thanks for stepping up and we stand behind you. (Call legislators)
If we do not act now, we will not see significant improvement in graduation rates, and we will see MPS face bankruptcy as its benefit costs reach one half its current $1 billion dollar budget.
We also support the governor’s efforts to put Wisconsin in line for federal education funding - available only if we get our education act together by:
• Removing the barrier to evaluate teacher performance based on students’ results
• Intervening to close failing schools
• And providing common standards and assessments for student performance.

Unfortunately, late last week, the Assembly passed by one vote a reform package that does not make these changes.
We realize there are extensive challenges in our community.  We wish we had more two-parent families and less poverty, but that should not prevent us from improving our system of education. As former MPS superintendent Howard Fuller has said, we need to educate the kids we have, not the kids we wish we had. 

Moving on to infrastructure. Our goal is a reliable and sustainable infrastructure that supports a growing regional economy.
The capacity of our people is a competitive advantage; the capacity of our infrastructure is a necessity.
We have, by and large, met this basic expectation.  We remain a commute-friendly region, with the completion of the Marquette Interchange and the reconstruction and expansion of Interstate 94 south to Illinois underway.
But we have some identifiable challenges, starting with transportation.
With 350,000 vehicles a day, accelerating reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange, the state’s busiest, needs to be a priority.
In addition, we must keep the state transportation fund for transportation. We cannot reach into the cookie jar to balance state spending. We were successful last session in keeping a lid on this jar.
We need a regional approach to transit - funding it, operating it and connecting it through a Regional Transportation Authority. We need to get out of the spiral of cutting bus routes and raising fares, straining the connection between people and jobs. 
Removing transit from the property tax and providing a dedicated sales tax will put us in line with almost every other metro area in the country.

We need to remove the moratorium on building nuclear plants in Wisconsin as the current plants reach the end of their useful life.  We can’t afford to lose this component of our power grid, even as we seek to diversify our energy sources with new alternatives.
At the federal level, Cap and Trade legislation would put Wisconsin at a competitive disadvantage. As a large coal user, Wisconsin would be forced to bear costs that its competitors would not. Our message to the state’s federal delegation is that a vote for Cap and Trade is a vote against jobs.

As we look to the future, our fresh water location holds much promise. Our high capacity and low costs for water and wastewater treatment can be a real game changer for economic development. You will hear more about this later.

Our infrastructure is relatively healthy, and where it’s not, the solutions are fairly obvious. Not so for health care.
Our goal in health care is a consumer-based system that provides high-quality and cost-effective health care.
The Milwaukee region has a great reputation for high-quality health care that attracts outside dollars into the region, like Children’s Hospital. We also have a major industrial player here that produces and exports health care technologies in GE Healthcare.  Great to have Mark Vachon, President & CEO of GE Healthcare Americas.
But as studies over the years have shown, health care generally costs more here.  That gap has closed significantly, down from 55 percent above the Midwest average in 2002 to 9 percent above the average today. We would like to close that gap altogether.
When 20 percent of the population accounts for 75 percent of health care spending that can be impacted by lifestyle choices, wellness and prevention is the place to start.
How can we make a difference? Through what we can control.
Partnering with the Mayor of Milwaukee and the Greater Milwaukee Committee, we launched an effort to engage employers in a “Well City” campaign.  This is part of a national program to promote wellness and recognize organizations for their commitment to the health and well-being of their employees.  The point is not just to receive an award, but to bring employers together to share best practices on what really works for wellness.
For more information on what your company can do to create a well workplace, check out the healthcare section of our website for programs and member services. 
And I am pleased to announce today that our health care insurance partner, WPS, is offering a two-year rate guarantee starting January 1st to any MMAC member with 2-50 employees. 
On the offense, MMAC worked to defeat “Healthy Wisconsin” - a state-run health care mandate with a billion dollar price tag.  In the coming year we will continue efforts to exempt health savings accounts from state taxes and reform medical malpractice to reduce the costs of defensive medicine.
The moving target of federal health care legislation makes it difficult to predict future costs. To hold our elected officials accountable, MMAC issues a Legislative Scorecard to track votes on these key policy issues.  Go to our website, get informed, and help us deliver the message.

While public policy is a major focus of our Blueprint, a number of initiatives are directed at strengthening connections between our members.
In its ninth year, FUEL Milwaukee is helping employers retain and attract talent by connecting thousands of young professionals. This network provides opportunities to learn, have fun and volunteer. I’d like to recognize their leadership and respective team members for all their hard work - Mechelle King, Leslie Dixon and Diane Eckstrand.
FUEL will continue its work with its 55  employer partners united around strategies to:
• Grow the number of great places to work
• Improve perceptions of the Milwaukee Region and
• Increase community engagement
Last year, FUEL adopted 8 non-profit organizations, which benefited from the volunteer work of more than 400 young professionals. The more connected you are, the more likely you are to remain in the region.

Broadening our economic impact includes increasing the participation of minority-owned businesses in our economy. We know from our benchmarking work that the region lags in this important area.
Through The Business Council, a network of ethnically-diverse businesses, we have developed a Supplier Diversity module, aimed at connecting diverse firms to corporate and public sector work.
To date, the 22 participating ethnically-diverse firms have earned almost $136 million in new contracts.  Thank you to The Business Council and our corporate partners. Our goal is to add six corporations to the module and increase their spending with participants by 10 percent.

And, lastly, in an effort to extend our reach internationally, MMAC was successful in obtaining federal approval to create an Immigrant Investor Zone for southeast Wisconsin.  This has quickly put us on the global map for foreigners interested in investing in the region. 
In exchange for a minimum investment of $500,000 and the creation of 10 jobs, they qualify for a permanent U.S. visa.
This tool extends our reach to attract capital to the region and has already resulted in $15 million dollars in new investment.  We expect this number to double next year. Many thanks to our China Business Council chairs, Bob Kraft and Ulice Payne, for teeing up this idea.  All of these efforts are starting to pay off for the region.

Tim Sheehy is president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

The future of Milwaukee's Hoan Bridge is at hand. A once-in-a-half-century decision will need to be made soon: Should the bridge be repaired and left as is, or should it be replaced with a street-level thoroughfare?

That question was bandied about by a panel at a Milwaukee Press Club Newsmaker Luncheon recently.
Peter Beitzel, vice president at the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC), and state Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) both called for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct a full study, assessing all of the options for the Hoan Bridge.

"We need to do this right. I want good information. I think it's key to the Milwaukee region," Stone said. "I'm going to argue we need a full study."

However, if the DOT is going to authorize such a study on the Hoan, it best do so soon, Beitzel said.
Proponents of replacing the bridge say a street-level thoroughfare would open hundreds of acres of land for redevelopment along the bridge's lakeside corridor. Beitzel said the only way the replacement concept moves forward is if someone champions that cause, and that someone would likely need to be the mayor of Milwaukee, he said.

Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik, who represents the south side of the county, is leading the fight to save the Hoan as is.

Jursik cited several reasons the Hoan must be retained in its current form:

• Residents on the south side need a direct, efficient traffic link to downtown jobs and entertainment.
• The Port of Milwaukee needs a clean, unimpeded route for ships.
• The Hoan provides a direct link for downtown residents and visitors to General Mitchell International Airport.
• A reduction in traffic capacity on the Hoan would force more traffic onto north/south Interstate 94.
• Commuters on the south side use the Hoan as a route to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
• The Hoan offers an inviting, impressive first view of downtown Milwaukee for first-time visitors from the airport or the Lake Express High-Speed Ferry.
• Properly marketed, the bridge could become an icon of the city's skyline (check out how OnMilwaukee.com makes great use of it).

Indeed, the image of traffic backed up for miles while a street-level drawbridge is raised or lowered every time a ship passes through the Port of Milwaukee was not a welcome vision for anyone on the Newsmaker panel, including Eric Reinelt, director of the port.

Stone said the region, the state and the country must rise above petty partisan political discourse and be willing to consider other viewpoints on important issues.

Still, there was something missing from the Newsmaker Luncheon. Oh yeah, now I remember. It was the DOT.

Neither DOT Secretary Frank Busalacchi or executive assistant Chris Klein could attend the event. Klein also said they could not send anyone else from their agency to represent the DOT.

An agency with hundreds of employees and a total bi-annual budget of $5.9 billion, and there are only two people capable of representing the DOT at a public forum?

Perhaps their response (or lack thereof) is an indication that the future of the Hoan is not a priority right now in Madison.

According to the panelists who did attend, a decision is needed soon, because the bridge is in dire need of repairs, if not replacement. The Hoan is on the clock.

Steve Jagler is executive editor of BizTimes Milwaukee.

Editor’s note: Susan Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center on the States, wrote the following Milwaukee Biz Blog in response to Thursday’s Biz Blog entry by Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Michael Morgan about Pew’s study, "Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril."

Pew's report is factually accurate and fair. Wisconsin was highlighted in our report because it exhibits many of the same fiscal warning signs seen in California, as documented by widely accepted, publicly available data.

The facts are clear. Wisconsin, like California and the eight other states Pew profiled, faces serious fiscal challenges. In reaching this conclusion, Pew relied on data from respected sources including the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, the U.S. Census Bureau and experts in both academia and government.

Our report states that California's budget problems are in a league of their own. But Wisconsin has had persistent budget shortfalls - the state has had a negative general fund balance from fiscal years 2002 to 2008, according to its own Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports. Additionally, Wisconsin has used short-term fixes to meet budget challenges, such as relying on its transportation funds to cover day-to-day operating expenses.

Prior to the 2010 fiscal year, Wisconsin faced a more than $3.2 billion budget gap - nearly a quarter of its general funds, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. During the first quarter of 2009, the state’s revenues declined by $370 million from the same quarter of the previous year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Rockefeller Institute. Wisconsin’s revenues declined even further in the next quarter from the previous year, down $1.25 billion or 24.3 percent.

Wisconsin’s third-quarter unemployment rate shows job losses are moderating. However, while Wisconsin manufacturing may be performing better in the current downturn than that of some of its neighbors, such as Michigan, the job losses in this sector have been heavy. The Center on Wisconsin Strategy, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reported in September that, from December 2007 to July 2009, the Badger State lost one-eighth of its manufacturing workforce.

As our report reflects, Wisconsin, like other states, has made attempts to deal with its fiscal challenges. The legislature passed the current spending plan on time, before the biennium started, for the first time in 32 years. It used $2.2 billion in federal stimulus funds to plug some budget shortfalls this year. To cover the rest of the gap, lawmakers took difficult steps such as raising taxes on the wealthy, hospitals and smokers, and cutting spending by $3 billion. But for the next biennium, which starts July 1, 2011, additional budget shortfalls of about $2 billion are expected, according to the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau

For the report Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril, Pew identified factors that have contributed significantly to California’s difficulties, then determined the degree to which other states are experiencing the same challenges. These factors are: (1) loss of state revenues; (2) the relative size of budget gaps; (3) increasing joblessness; (4) high foreclosure rates; (5) legal obstacles to balanced budgets—specifically, a supermajority requirement for some or all tax increases or budget bills and (6) poor money-management practices.

Pew scored all 50 states using the best available data as of July 31, 2009. The snapshot captures an important juncture: the first and second quarters of 2009, the pressure point for governors and legislatures in the throes of crafting their budgets for fiscal year 2010 (which began on July 1 in all but four states). More information on the methodology and the report in its entirety is available at www.pewcenteronthestates.org/beyondcalifornia.

Susan Urahn is the managing director of the Pew Center on the States in Washington, D.C.

Editor’s note: Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) Secretary Michael Morgan made the following statement regarding a report released today by the Pew Center on States that says Wisconsin is among nine states to follow California on a path to financial collapse.

In no way can Wisconsin be compared to the nation’s most financially troubled states, especially California.
While Wisconsin has been affected, like all states, by the national economic downturn, we have balanced our budget by cutting spending and raising revenues as needed. 
In addition, recent reports have shown that many other states have large revenue shortfalls in the current fiscal year. But Wisconsin does not. 
The Pew Center report is factually inaccurate.  From the outset, the report is fundamentally flawed.
It is not true that the recession has hit Wisconsin harder than other states. While we have taken hits like everyone else, Wisconsin has fared much better than other states and manufacturing is doing better in Wisconsin compared to our neighboring states. 
While Wisconsin’s unemployment rate increased during the national economic recession, again like all states, it is now improving and is more than two percentage points below the national average of 10.2 percent. 
Finally, the report fails to take into account many of the good budgetary practices of Wisconsin.  For the first time in 32 years, the state’s budget was finished on time. In spite of tough times, the budget the governor signed cut spending from state general fund taxes by 2.5 percent and includes a $270 million surplus for the period that ends July 1, 2011.
We have worked hard in Wisconsin to ensure that we can come out of this national economic recession in a strong position.

 
Michael Morgan is the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

President Barack Obama showed up at Madison's Wright Middle School last week to talk about reforming education, but that topic may not have been top of mind for everyone who came to hear him.

It was the day after Democrats lost races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, two states where Obama made personal appeals, and during a time in which Congress was stewing over health-care reform, troop levels in Afghanistan and legislation to extend unemployment benefits.

In case anyone was listening, however, the setting was as good a place as any to talk about what it will take to produce better educated citizens.

Wright Middle School is a 12-year old charter school within the Madison School District. It has about 240 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students, mostly black and Latino, with attendance rates that historically hover around 93 percent. It's been a public education success story because the students who attend all choose to be there – and their parents choose to be involved.

Obama wanted to speak at Wright Middle School to highlight the "Race to the Top" competition, which will invite states such as Wisconsin to compete for a share of $4.35 billion in federal education grants. Obama, who believes lagging achievements in education are a chronic problem in the United States, urged Wright students to aim higher, calling education "a prerequisite for success."

He's right, of course. Better educated people are more likely to find jobs, keep jobs, earn a good living and contribute to society as a whole. The real debate is how best to produce more of them.

"Race to the Top" dangles federal aid carrots to states that raise academic standards, improve teacher quality and expand the reach of charter schools. While $4.35 billion is a lot of money, it represents only a fraction of total K-12 education spending in the United States - about $667 billion in 2008-2009. It's even a fraction of federal-only spending on elementary and secondary education, a category that has grown sharply since former President Bush launched "No Child Left Behind" in 2001.

More money alone won't solve the problem. For "Race to the Top" to work, it must spur education innovation that spreads far beyond a charter school here and a new standard there. It must build upon best practices that can be broadly implemented, in Wisconsin and elsewhere.

Public-private efforts to enrich science, technology, engineering and math education provide ready examples of innovation. In Wisconsin, programs such as Project Lead the Way, Science Olympiad and FIRST Robotics have energized students and teachers alike - and are beginning to yield results.
Project Lead the Way is one instructive example. It prepares middle and high school students for careers in engineering and technology through courses that capture students' imagination. It's used in 2,300 schools nationwide, including 162 in Wisconsin, and is taught by existing public and private school teachers who are immersed in PTLW techniques. The track record is impressive: 73 percent of Project Lead the Way students enter engineering or tech programs, and 80 percent earn their degrees.

Another example of thinking differently about education involves student testing. Wisconsin has begun the process of phasing out its current system of testing student performance in grades three through eight and 10 in favor of a system that will more effectively guide teachers, parents and students - and help prepare those students for college and the workforce.

In the process, it should also help businesses in search for workers with 21st century skills, and Wisconsin taxpayers who have a stake in more effective use of local, state and federal dollars.
Other states have remade their testing systems already. Some, such as Oregon, have developed an Internet-based system, which dramatically shortens reporting time and allows for repeat tests for those who want to improve. Michigan requires the ACT test in its system, which lowers the statewide average score (a Wisconsin bragging right for decades) but serves to encourage more students to continue their education after high school. Nebraska built a statewide assessment system from classroom and district best practices. They're all designed to raise standards and performance.

Don't get me wrong: Wisconsin could use whatever share of the "Race to the Top" dollars it can get: It ranks a miserable 49th among the 50 states in per capita federal spending on K-12 education, according to one recent study. But let's make sure those dollars are put to work on innovation that can spread far beyond a school here or a classroom there.

Tom Still is president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. He is the former associate editor of the Wisconsin State Journal.

All of those naysayers who believe Wisconsin is a terrible place to do business need to take a deep breath and do some serious recalibrating.
To be sure, like every other state, Wisconsin has its share of challenges - its high taxes and the dropout rate at Milwaukee Public Schools always quickly come to mind. And no doubt, Wisconsin has taken it on the chin with the closures of automotive plants in Janesville and Kenosha.
The losses have made the Milwaukee 7 a convenient target for people who make a habit out of trashing Wisconsin's business climate.
However, the negative drumbeat news cycle needs to take a break sometimes, and Tuesday was one of those days.
BizTimes had known for weeks that Milwaukee is one of two cities to be finalists in a Spanish company's search to build its new North American headquarters. We were told by city officials that we should not report that fact, however, because doing so could jeopardize Milwaukee's chances of landing the project.
Well, Wisconsin Secretary of Commerce Richard Leinenkugel blew those concerns out of the water Tuesday when he reported by phone from Bilbao, Spain, at the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) all-member meeting that he had just concluded a "12-hour cage match" presentation to a Spanish company.
Leinenkugel is courting the Spanish firm with a southeastern Wisconsin delegation that includes officials from the Milwaukee 7, We Energies and Richard "Rocky" Marcoux, commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of City Development.
Milwaukee is "at the finish line" of landing the company's North American headquarters that would bring hundreds of jobs to southeastern Wisconsin and could also generate more work for vendors in the region, sources said.
"It's between us and one other city," said one source close to the negotiations.
Officials representing the Spanish company have been studying the business climate in southeastern Wisconsin for weeks, BizTimes has learned. The company sent representatives to the MMAC's Future 50 program in September, and they toured several southeastern Wisconsin factories, including the GenMet metal fabrication plant in Mequon. The plant tours were designed to give the Spanish company some insight about the array of potential partners and vendors in the region, sources said.
Sources said they expect the Spanish company to make a decision on the site for the North American headquarters by the end of the year.
Sources declined to identify the Spanish company that is being courted by Milwaukee.
We've got a pretty good hunch, however. Think alternative energy. Spain has become the world's second-largest producer of solar and wind energy in the world (behind Germany).
Spanish companies such as Gamesa, a manufacturer and installer of wind turbines, Iberdrola, a power group, and Acciona Energia, a wind park developer, are becoming global players in the fast-emerging alternative energy markets.

Republic Airways jobs
The news that Milwaukee is a finalist for the Spanish company's jobs came on the heels of Republic Airways Holdings Inc.'s announcement earlier Tuesday that it will save 800 jobs in Oak Creek and move 800 new jobs to the region by the end of next year.
Republic, the new parent company of Midwest Airlines, plans to move the jobs to Oak Creek and Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport.
Republic chief executive officer Bryan Bedford confirmed the creation of a Milwaukee hub during the MMAC's meeting at the Bradley Center.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced the use of the state's Enterprise Zone tax credits to help convince Republic to bring the jobs to the state.
Indianapolis-based Republic Airways will consolidate operations in Milwaukee from other cities such as Las Cruces, N.M., and Denver, Colo.
Republic acquired Denver-based Frontier Airlines on Oct. 1.
Bedford praised Milwaukee's pro-business climate as a reason for deciding to bring the jobs here, rather than Indianapolis or Denver.
"We spent a lot of time in the last three months trying to figure out where we can be our best and most competitive," Bedford said.
Bedford also announced Republic will add new routes from Milwaukee to San Francisco and Raleigh, N.C. The company is considering adding service to six more routes.
"Midwest Airlines today is about 45 percent to 50 percent of what it was at its peak. Our goal is to get back to its peak as soon as possible," Bedford said.

Mercury Marine jobs
Step back for a moment and recall that Wisconsin also recently beat out Oklahoma to keep Mercury Marine's production plant in Fond du Lac. Wisconsin provided about $70 million in public assistance, along with about $50 million in a loan backed by a Fond du Lac County sales tax and $3 million from the city of Fond du Lac. With the combined package of incentives, Mercury Marine plans to move up to 2,700 jobs to the Fox Valley.

Biotech jobs
In addition to the wins with Mercury Marine and Republic Airways, eight biotechnology companies have recently moved from other states to Wisconsin.
Biotechnology in Wisconsin is an $8.7 billion industry with 400 companies and 34,000 employees. Biotechnology is the fastest-growing segment of the Wisconsin economy, with an annualized growth rate of nearly 7 percent.
The state is benefiting from the formation of the Wisconsin Angel Network and the Wisconsin Venture Fund to help facilitate deal flow, investor exchanges and network creation.
In February, Doyle expanded the investor tax credit law as part of an early economic recovery bill. Enhancements included: raising the cap on tax credits for angel investments from $1 million to $4 million; tripling the annual pool of credits available for angel credits, from $5.5 million to $18.25 million per year, and venture credits, $6 million to $18.75 million; and allowing angel investors to claim the entire 25 percent credit on their investment in the first taxable year.
The eight biotech companies moving to Wisconsin are: RJA Dispersions LLC; VitalMedix; Rapid Diagnostek; Aldevron; Flex Biomedical Inc.; Inviragen Inc.; Exact Sciences Corp.; and NanoMedex.
They're moving here from Minnesota, North Dakota, Massachusetts and Florida.
Those relocations recently prompted the Star-Tribune in Minneapolis to write a series (and a related blog item headlined, "Wisconsin kicks our butt") about how Minnesota is losing out to a better business climate in Wisconsin.

Jobs from the Flatlands
Meanwhile, Uline Inc. of Waukegan, Ill., will move across the Wisconsin border to its new headquarters in Pleasant Prairie in 2010, bringing 1,000 jobs to a state that is supposedly a terrible place to do business. Uline is investing about $100 million in this God-awful place.
Uline received more than $6 million in incentives and aid from the State of Wisconsin to come here. In addition to Uline, several other Chicago area-based firms recently have opted to build facilities in Kenosha County instead of northern Illinois, including Vernon Hills-based Rust-Oleum Corp. and Lake Forest Village-based Hospira Inc.
And guess what? Business advocates in northern Illinois are now screaming because Wisconsin is luring away so many of their businesses. At a meeting of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce in Independence Grove, Lake County Partners president Dave Young blamed Illinois' "unfriendly business climate" for the flight of businesses TO Wisconsin.
"We have a governor (in Illinois) who goes out of his way to antagonize the business community," Young said at the luncheon, according to the Lake County News-Sun. "Unfortunately, right next door in Kenosha County, Gov. Jim Doyle is very adept at business recruitment and actually enjoys it."
Oh, and there will be more good news. Look for the efforts of the Water Council and Badger Meter Inc. CEO Rich Meeusen to pay off with more freshwater technology jobs in the next couple of years.
On Wisconsin!

Steve Jagler is executive editor of BizTimes Milwaukee.

Tom Barrett has implied that he would not remove his children from their Milwaukee schools if he were to run for governor and that he would want to spend some time in Milwaukee if he was elected. I suggest that not only could this be a good idea for the governor, it would be a great idea for the rest of the elected state officials as well.

Spending time outside Madison would allow our legislators to spend more time in their districts talking to local businesses, having coffee with seniors, getting involved with the local schools, and getting to know the real problems and the real opportunities in their districts throughout the state.

I have served on a school board, city council, or as mayor of a community in this state almost continuously since 1982, and I can count on one hand the number of times an elected official actually came to a meeting or sat down to talk with the local elected officials. I have seen countless pieces of legislation passed that would have no doubt benefited from the input of these local officials.

Specifically, the qualified economic offer (QEO) for teachers, tax incremental financing (TIF) laws and many of the grants and loans for business all slightly missed their intended mark. Just a little insight could have prevented errors that have had to be fixed or have cost the state real tax dollars, new business or great teachers.

Wisconsin was founded on the ideal of a part-time legislature in touch with their respective communities. While legislators retain residences in their district, the "in touch" factor is, in most cases, simply not there

Ken Harwood is an alderman for the city of Verona, a former mayor of Neenah and a member of the Neenah School Board. He currently edits the WisconsinDevelopment.com newsletter and maintains the FutureWisconsin.com websites.