Ideas To Keep Job Creation Momentum Going

Even in this slow economy, we can take some encouragement that our legislative focus on job creation has us heading in the right direction.

Recent numbers issued by the federal Department of Labor indicate that the Milwaukee metropolitan area is creating jobs at one of the higher rates in the country among metro areas with employment over 750,000 – behind only San Jose, California and Houston, Texas.

We cannot, however, be satisfied even with that good news. Wisconsin’s economy is still not growing at the rate we need in order to address the unemployment problems that have developed over the last few years. While we’ve made good progress, the continued slow pace of our recovery indicates that more work remains to be done. After all, job creators in Wisconsin still face an adversarial tax climate while the federal government is totally out of control with spending, burdensome regulations and bureaucratic inefficiency.

That is why the legislature, in partnership with Governor Scott Walker, is working this fall on the next phase of our jobs agenda. With bad policy in Washington, D.C. continuing to hold down stronger job growth, we need to do everything we can here at home to create an economic firewall around Wisconsin. Following are some of the ideas under consideration:

• Updating Wisconsin’s tax laws in order to create more predictability for businesses and taxpayers;
• Streamlining the DNR permitting process while maintaining protections for our most valuable wetland resources;
• Making early stage angel investment tax credits refundable for investments in small high-technology businesses;
• Adopting an entrepreneurial tax credit to increase access to capital for small businesses;
• Creating multijurisdictional TIF districts;
• Creating a tax credit for investments in community development financial institutions;
• Increasing advanced manufacturing skills grants for technical colleges;
• Authorizing the Public Service Commission to approve temporary electric rates to promote economic development;
• Expanding access to capital through small business loan guarantees by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority; and
• Further tort reform measures in addition to the landmark job-saving lawsuit reforms enacted earlier this year.

This is not an exhaustive list of the proposals being discussed for potential passage by the legislature, and additional ideas for job creation are sure to surface in the days and weeks ahead. As always, please contact me with your specific ideas for creating jobs and growing our economy and I will research your suggestion and review it with my legislative colleagues.

Rest assured Wisconsin Republicans will continue to push a pro-jobs agenda every day we are on the job. We will not wait for the Federal Government to wake up to what works. We will move our "Forward" agenda! On Wisconsin!