Sunday, August 01, 2010

Wisconsin Department of Commerce

I agree greatly with the need for reforming this agency, but some of the suggested remedies are a little suspect.  Hopefully this is a catalyst to a serious discussion about Wisconsin’s business climate. 

Wisconsin, a perennial laggard in income and tax rankings, is overdue for a top-to-bottom overhaul of its state Department of Commerce, an agency that’s too unfocused and antiquated to act as a much-needed economic catalyst, according to a new report.

“Wisconsin needs a change agent,” according to the study, intentionally released ahead of November’s elections.

The team of authors, who include former commerce secretaries under both Republican Tommy Thompson and incumbent Democrat Jim Doyle, concede their proposals are “explosive” and “intentionally disruptive” because the envisioned new agency would operate more like a private company than a government bureaucracy. But they argue that a radical restructuring is essential if Wisconsin aims to compete with other parts of the nation, much less internationally.

While Indiana, Georgia and even Iowa aggressively recruit new employers with industrial-attraction teams and a strategic playbook, Madison often has sat on the sidelines. “The state sends a signal to the marketplace that Wisconsin is not open for business,” it concluded.

No elected governor of either party ever proposed the sort of pure promotion and development agency that the report envisions. On the contrary, its authors argue that the agency developed an unwieldy structure over the years as politicians arbitrarily added a grab bag of other functions, such as housing services, plumbing certification, construction permits, building inspection and even environmental regulation.

(4) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1658 hrs
Economy + Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. Yah…

    That “the State can put $500million into good ideas” thing kinda made me shiver.

    Posted by dad29 on August 01, 2010 at 1928 hrs


  2. This entire department is a huge waste of money. The DOC was expanded under Tommy Thomson to promote business in Wisconsin when in reality, it was a permanent campaign tool for him. Totally ineffective then, and now, it appears from a recent study, to have deteriorated from worthless, which you would expect in which the words Doyle and Commerce appear. Here is a great example of shrinking government without any downside. We may be much better off winging it instead of letting bureaucrats get paid to fumble on every possession.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 01, 2010 at 1958 hrs


  3. Yeah, Dad29… that and the walling off the department from “politics” (read: accountability to the taxpayers) makes me nervous. 

    Still… it’s worth digging into.

    Posted by Owen on August 01, 2010 at 2111 hrs


  4. I have dealt with the department before - they are totally understaffed and inept to boot.

    Shut it down and save the money to lower taxes - that is what will keep/draw business here.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 01, 2010 at 2252 hrs


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