Green unveils economic development plan

As published in the Small Business Times' BizTimes Daily.

BY BRADLEY WOOTEN

Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green today unveiled his new economic development and job creation plan at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Green proposed a list of tax, regulatory and litigation reforms that include replacing the Wisconsin Department of Commerce with a business-like entity headed by the governor, which would eliminate duplications in other state departments and pull resources together.
That entity would be the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC), to be led by a non-partisan 12-member board of directors.

As governor, Green said he would be "Wisconsin's chief jobs officer." Green said he would create a jobs hotline in the governor's office.

"Anyone looking to create new jobs in Wisconsin will need to know only one number – Gov. Green's," Green said. "If we are going to attract business to Wisconsin, our state's economic development activity needs to operate like and move at the speed of business."

Green criticized Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle for failing to aggressively pursue a Honda Motor Co. assembly plant project, which was recently landed by Indiana, bringing 2,000 manufacturing jobs to the Hoosier State."

According to many reports, Gov. Doyle never even picked up the phone to Honda. Instead, he directed someone to see if Honda was interested," Green said. "I'm not saying I'm sure we would have won that fight, but I sure would have been in their fighting (for the plant)."

Green also said Wisconsin has an "idea drain."

"The top age group leaving Wisconsin are 20- to 29-year-olds," Green said.

Green said would provide growth-oriented tax relief to enable new businesses to come into Wisconsin and a $1,000 job creation tax credit for businesses creating jobs that pay 10 percent above the county average salary.