It hasn't become overwhelming yet, but it's begun.
Like the first robin of spring or the first construction barrel of summer, the campaign ads have started to make their way onto the TV and radio. This being a presidential year, and Wisconsin being a highly important "battleground state," it's a safe bet that politics will once again be front and center from now until the fall.
The theater of politics and the games of "who-said-what" certainly stand out, and a scandal-and-sound-byte mentality has become the norm for news programs and water-cooler conversations alike. That's a shame, because it pushes the real progress and the critical issues facing Wisconsin to the background. Too often, the political conversation devolves into name-calling and silly games, and it's easy for people to just tune it all out.
But even when it's not in the limelight, the people of Wisconsin deserve real solutions to the problems we face. Leaders are elected to lead, and the tough times currently facing the people of our state deserve real action. Nowhere is that more clear than with the economy. National and global concerns are being felt in our individual lives, and in real ways. In the past few weeks alone, we heard news that the Janesville GM plant will be closing earlier than expected, and that Midwest Airlines will be laying off a huge chunk of its workforce.
More importantly, for every story about a business closing or an area suffering mass layoffs, there are countless individual, silent concerns about pink slips and making ends meet. In the state Assembly, we hear those concerns as loud and clear as the blaring headlines.
Unfortunately, some see the economy as a chance to score political points, and an opening to make empty promises. What Republicans in the state Assembly see, on the other hand, is a chance to work with both sides of the aisle to make a real difference. This year in Madison, Assembly Republicans passed important common-sense reforms and initiatives to help Wisconsin businesses and workers through the tough times.
We invested in our workers by doubling the funding for the state's Training Grant Program, increasing funding for the Youth Apprenticeship program and passing a higher education tax credit that helps employers invest in the education and training of their workers.
We made investment in Wisconsin businesses easier, with a tax incentive for companies that re-invest their capital gains in-state and an expansion of the Angel Investment program, which promotes investment in promising new small businesses. The Angel Investment program, in fact, has been something of a secret success here in Wisconsin: in the past year, angel investment and early-stage investment in Wisconsin jumped 43%, to a new record high of $147 million in investment capital for the businesses and jobs of tomorrow. That's far outpacing the national average of only 1.8%.
For Wisconsin families, we passed child care assistance, tax cuts on health insurance premiums, real-world health care reforms to give you more choices and control over your health care decisions, and strong support of our transportation infrastructure. We passed tax credits for nanotechnology, bio-technology and renewable energy, as well as incentives for businesses to innovate and keep ahead of the times. Manufacturing is a vital part of the Wisconsin economy today, and we owe it to future generations to set ourselves up as leaders in the high-tech jobs of the future.
We haven't slowed down during the summer either. Although the legislative session has ended for the year, we formed a special committee on Building Wisconsin's Workforce, made up of both public officials and experts from the private sector. This committee held its first meeting at the capitol this week, and is expected to provide some top-quality insight on the economic realities of today and how to meet the challenges we face.
The fact is, businesses grow and create jobs when the government steps in to see how it can help, not when it puts a hand out for more taxes. The incentives and improvements we passed this session will help businesses grow, rather than taking more and more of their money under the false notion that the government knows how to spend it better.
I'm proud to have been a part of some important successes this past session, by working together with members of both sides of the aisle to make a real difference. So when you start to get fed up with politics this fall, just remember that there are some of us working in Madison to make a real difference, not just get the headlines.
- Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, is the speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly. He can be reached at (608) 266-3387
Like the first robin of spring or the first construction barrel of summer, the campaign ads have started to make their way onto the TV and radio. This being a presidential year, and Wisconsin being a highly important "battleground state," it's a safe bet that politics will once again be front and center from now until the fall.
The theater of politics and the games of "who-said-what" certainly stand out, and a scandal-and-sound-byte mentality has become the norm for news programs and water-cooler conversations alike. That's a shame, because it pushes the real progress and the critical issues facing Wisconsin to the background. Too often, the political conversation devolves into name-calling and silly games, and it's easy for people to just tune it all out.
But even when it's not in the limelight, the people of Wisconsin deserve real solutions to the problems we face. Leaders are elected to lead, and the tough times currently facing the people of our state deserve real action. Nowhere is that more clear than with the economy. National and global concerns are being felt in our individual lives, and in real ways. In the past few weeks alone, we heard news that the Janesville GM plant will be closing earlier than expected, and that Midwest Airlines will be laying off a huge chunk of its workforce.
More importantly, for every story about a business closing or an area suffering mass layoffs, there are countless individual, silent concerns about pink slips and making ends meet. In the state Assembly, we hear those concerns as loud and clear as the blaring headlines.
Unfortunately, some see the economy as a chance to score political points, and an opening to make empty promises. What Republicans in the state Assembly see, on the other hand, is a chance to work with both sides of the aisle to make a real difference. This year in Madison, Assembly Republicans passed important common-sense reforms and initiatives to help Wisconsin businesses and workers through the tough times.
We invested in our workers by doubling the funding for the state's Training Grant Program, increasing funding for the Youth Apprenticeship program and passing a higher education tax credit that helps employers invest in the education and training of their workers.
We made investment in Wisconsin businesses easier, with a tax incentive for companies that re-invest their capital gains in-state and an expansion of the Angel Investment program, which promotes investment in promising new small businesses. The Angel Investment program, in fact, has been something of a secret success here in Wisconsin: in the past year, angel investment and early-stage investment in Wisconsin jumped 43%, to a new record high of $147 million in investment capital for the businesses and jobs of tomorrow. That's far outpacing the national average of only 1.8%.
For Wisconsin families, we passed child care assistance, tax cuts on health insurance premiums, real-world health care reforms to give you more choices and control over your health care decisions, and strong support of our transportation infrastructure. We passed tax credits for nanotechnology, bio-technology and renewable energy, as well as incentives for businesses to innovate and keep ahead of the times. Manufacturing is a vital part of the Wisconsin economy today, and we owe it to future generations to set ourselves up as leaders in the high-tech jobs of the future.
We haven't slowed down during the summer either. Although the legislative session has ended for the year, we formed a special committee on Building Wisconsin's Workforce, made up of both public officials and experts from the private sector. This committee held its first meeting at the capitol this week, and is expected to provide some top-quality insight on the economic realities of today and how to meet the challenges we face.
The fact is, businesses grow and create jobs when the government steps in to see how it can help, not when it puts a hand out for more taxes. The incentives and improvements we passed this session will help businesses grow, rather than taking more and more of their money under the false notion that the government knows how to spend it better.
I'm proud to have been a part of some important successes this past session, by working together with members of both sides of the aisle to make a real difference. So when you start to get fed up with politics this fall, just remember that there are some of us working in Madison to make a real difference, not just get the headlines.
- Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, is the speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly. He can be reached at (608) 266-3387
