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July 15, 2009

The Wednesday Update

July 15, 2009  Volume 3, Issue 27   IN THIS ISSUE:  Failure To Lead; Combating Low Rates

July 15, 2009 Vol 3, Number 27	Wednesday Update
In This Issue:   1. Failure to Lead 2. Combating Low Rates 3. Doyle Recoil 4. Half-Wit Nelson	Failure to Lead As Governor Doyle's state budget worked its way through the Legislature, opinion leaders noted that $3 billion in new taxes would be detrimental to the state's business community. With large employers fleeing the state en masse, the massive tax increases virtually guarantee more businesses would follow suit.  In a report prepared for the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, renowned business leaders Thomas Hefty and John Torinus issued a scathing critique of Governor Doyle’s antagonistic approach toward Wisconsin businesses. Calling Wisconsin the “Alabama of the north,” Hefty and Torinus meticulously lay out the statistics that illustrate how Wisconsin's economy is sinking into the abyss:   As we’ll show here, Wisconsin is lagging its own economic performance of the 1990s and losing ground to other states—especially to other upper Midwest states like Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. It is even failing to meet its own goals—established in 1997 with much fanfare by a blue ribbon commission—for ramping up the state economy. Although our political and media leaders ignore these failings, Wisconsin residents intuitively understand how our economic anemia has sapped their incomes and diminished their opportunities. In their initial letter to stakeholders in the Wisconsin Technology Council in 2002, the group’s leaders concluded: “The need for economic change is evident.... Barring dramatic change, some forecasts suggest [Wisconsin] per capita income will fall to 83% of the U.S. average in 20 years.” That downward trend is unabated. In 2002, the state was at 98% of U.S. per capita income; by 2008, it had fallen to 93.8%. For better or for worse, Gov. Doyle has been at the helm during this slide. An increase in education spending and added incentives for venture capital and entrepreneurship aren’t sufficient by themselves for the state to enjoy economic success. Success requires a plan. It requires leadership in the governor’s office and in the cabinet offices. It starts with a positive attitude toward business, and it thrives with enthusiastic salesmanship. But it also requires that a cold, hard reality be faced: Wisconsin is falling behind. Our economy is suffering, and so are our citizens. We need to build a more competitive economy or reconcile ourselves to becoming the Alabama of the north. If you get a charge out of horror stories, save yourself the eight bucks you'd spend at the box office and read the whole report.    Democrats Combat Declining Insurance Rates Unlike the cost of everything else, the cost of auto insurance in Wisconsin actually decreased by .5% last month, keeping Wisconsin auto insurance rates among the lowest in the country.  Thank goodness Governor Doyle and his legislative allies took action to reverse this disturbing anomaly. Not long ago, Forward Wisconsin, a public-private  business marketing and recruitment agency, listed Wisconsin’s low auto insurance rates among the top ten reasons business should consider locating in Wisconsin.  But that was before Governor Doyle fully emerged from the job killing closet. Doyle's budget not only requires all Wisconsin residents to purchase auto insurance, it raises the mandatory minimum amount of insurance they are required to carry, and increases the amount they must pay for that insurance. Doyle’s Insurance Commissioner Sean Dilweg said the rate hikes will take effect on November 1, 2009 but could not predict the size of the average rate increase. Mr. Dilweg needn't be concerned.  If Doyle's rate increases are too small, Senate Democrats stand ready to jack them up further by imposing new laws. Last year, Senate Democrats passed a plan that would ban insurance companies from offering lower rates to drivers based on their strong credit ratings. In June, a legislative conference committee voted to prohibit insurers from offering lower cost policies to residents of low risk communities.   Who knows, maybe the legislature will go so far as to prohibit insurance companies from offering reduced rates to drivers with unblemished driving records.   Doyle Recoil   The more the public knows about Governor Doyle's state budget, the less they like him. Public opinion polls continue to show the Governor’s approval rating at an abysmal 34%. Meanwhile Citizens for Responsible Government is hitting the streets with a campaign to cut Doyle's damaging tenure short. While Governor Doyle's ratings continue to fall, a grassroots movement to recall the Governor took off in March. Fed up with huge budget deficits and massive tax increases that are driving jobs out of Wisconsin, a small group formed in a living room in Waukesha has grown to a statewide effort of over 5,000 volunteers. The effort is being led by Wisconsinites' Interests Now (WIN) and Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG). Once recall papers are filed the group has 60 days to collect signatures.  Half-Wit Nelson      Memo to Wisconsin media: Don't ask Assembly Majority Leader Tom Nelson about his pork. He takes it personally. When a Green Bay television station recently asked Nelson why he placed a provision in the state budget allowing the Oneida Nation to circumvent state liquor license laws, a defiant Nelson refused to comment on camera. During the last biennial budget, Nelson couldn’t get enough time in the media spotlight when he staged a sit-in in the Assembly Chambers to protest the way Republicans were handling the budget. Now that that he has assumed a leadership position he isn't quite so interested in peforming for the camera.