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5/8/2009
Governor Doyle running scared?

Not such an easy thing to say about Jim Doyle. Our governor is a very skilled politician and surely isn’t easily diverted from whatever he thinks is the task at hand - which these days I suppose includes keeping his political head above water.

Doyle must be pretty ticked off at Senator Joe Leibham, who’s been giving the governor a hard time (as has Scott Walker) about the state losing Sheboygan’s Thomas Industries to Louisiana. So today, the Department of Commerce sends out a 1,000-word ‘Thomas Industries Fact Sheet’ that sought to set the record straight on what Commerce, the Governor’s office and Senator Leibham had to do with trying to save Thomas Industries.

On April 13, Thomas Industries decided to relocate manufacturing operation from Sheboygan to Monroe, LA. Unfortunately, this announcement has led to both political posturing and considerable distortion of the facts regarding state government’s efforts to retain the manufacturing facility. The Department of Commerce has compiled the enclosed fact sheet and timeline of the project. Please feel free to run or excerpt it.

It’s a chronology of contacts, apparently trying to discount Leibham’s account of the goings-on, discounting the Senator’s accusations that the governor was sleeping on the job, as Thomas was making its decision to leave or stay. It’s interesting enough – if you want to go through the drivel and the details. I know this is very serious stuff. But it gives me the impression of schoolyard accusations and games.

In placing blame, many believe the union’s impact on its bottom line was the final straw for Thomas Industries.

But the point is, it seems apparent these detractors got under the governor’s skin. And that skin has proven itself pretty thick in the past.

Add to this little irritant a few bloody budget problems, and maybe, just maybe, the governor’s a bit on edge.

Doyle calls for layoffs, furloughs, cuts to fill $6.5 billion hole 5/7/2009 “The steps the Democratic governor outlined Thursday were his third attempt to rebalance the books in five months.

Doyle warns mayors to expect deeper aid cuts 5/7/2009 “State tax collections are significantly down from a year ago and that doesn’t bode well for Wiscondsin cities, Gov. Jim Doyle told the mayors of the state’s largest 20 cities on Wednesday.”

There are no more funds left to raid; state’s cookie jar, mattress, sock drawer, sugar canister all empty. 5/7/2009

(and back to the end of 2008…) State ends FY 2008 with $2.5 billion deficit 12/30/2008

The governor’s in a mess. I’m sure he hasn’t had a spare minute to question whether he just might not win that ol’ election in 2010.

Edit: Governor Doyle may or may not have taken the time to analyze the situation (?!), but Christian Schneider and Kevin Binversie have. Doyle's approval ratings are under water. Lower than all those showed except Paterson (NY) and Schwarzenegger (CA).

.Jo Egelhoff, FoxPolitics.net

COMMENTS

We're lucky they did not go to Malaysia. In the states they pay a corporate tax rate of 28%. Do you know what they pay in Malaysia? Malaysia gives manufacturing firms a 15 yes 15 year freebee of 0/zero corporate tax. We can't compete. What used to be a language barrier is no longer. They speak great english. What used to be a labor skills issue is no longer. Now the crippling tax burdens (to include Wisconsin's state taxes) make it a no brainer for corporations to relocate. First they go down south to escape the Wisconsin tax hammer, than they go overseas.Corporations are doing what is right for them to survive. Taxes being a major part of their operating expense can no longer be ignored.

Mike (Fri May 08 07:50:49 2009)

Thomas Industries, aka "Gardner-Denver," leaving the tropical paradise of sunny, warm Wisconsin for the Louisana swamp was simple economics. They opted for lower fixed plant costs in a more moderate climate. I seem to recall some grinning ninny claiming his global warming hoax beliefs would cause energy rates to "skyrocket." After the just past 2008-09 mini ice age I can't blame employers for looking for lower utility bills. Wisconsin is not an ideal climate for keeping your expenses down, although in the blissful ignorance of some it's a Workers' Paradise.

The State of Lousiana is much more employer friendly than Wisconsin. Why, they almost act as if their citizens NEED employers. In Wisconsin our government, mostly under the expert guidance of Comrade Doyle, sees employers as a source of evil to our employee-citizens and as a source of tax revenue to our fat (and getting fatter) state government. Our problems in Wisconsin aren't under-taxation, they're over-spending!

While the union was certainly a consideration in the decision to leave Wisconsin, it wasn't the only factor, and probably not the top reason. I know the union President, and I'm sure she and her fellow union brother and sisters made a good faith effort to talk to their company. Unfortunately I think the deal was already done at that point, and the company was just doing their due diligence in making overtures to the union.

It is possible the state could have stepped in and bested Louisiana's offer(s), but it would have taken some doing. And besides, Diamond Jim was on an urgent mission to Spain in an effort to - you guessed it - spend some more of your tax money on a train.

Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding; "All aboard the Liberal Express. Now leaving on track 10!" And thus the Governor is railroaded into his patronage cabinet post.

Duke (Fri May 08 08:04:11 2009)

I seem to remember people predicting months ago that State Tax collections would be down. Did Doyle just figure that out?

Will just city shared revenues be cut? Or do you think that across the board cuts (Including education---public and University) will be affected?

David (Fri May 08 08:07:18 2009)

The problem here is that we do not have a very strong state marketing arm in the Department of Commerce. Of course it is difficult to market the State of Wisconsin when they continue to pass tax increases that are not business friendly. However, we could still do a better job than we have in attracting business.
Our neighboring states of Minnesota and Iowa are doing a much better job of this. Iowa alone has attracted two major wind turbine manufacturers to their state in the last two years and Minnesota is going the other way in lowering taxes for businesses and actually trying to court new businesses to move to their state.
When is the last time you heard of a major corporation moving to our state and creating new jobs?
If you want to get a feel for the positives or negatives of an organization, they say you should look to the leader as an example. Governor Doyle has not been a good model for an organization that should be actively courting business.
It took over a month to convince his organization that he should attend the major wind turbine conference in Chicago with the governors of other states. This was a great opportunity to impress potential companies to consider our state. He would rather go to Spain to look at light rail.

Mike Thomas (Fri May 08 08:30:08 2009)

This is why it makes excellent sense to recall Doyle NOW, before he can do further damage.

emily matthews (Fri May 08 12:02:40 2009)

Here is a clip just received:
"We had an excellent day of radio coverage on WHBY AM 1150 Green Bay. I was invited to Bill Sebastian’s morning talk show for a half hour segment on Doyle’s recall. The recall interest was so strong among his listening audience that he held me over for the full hour.

I later found out, according to Brian G., a listener in the area, that the interest level was so strong that the Doyle recall topic was carried over for AN ADDITIONAL HOUR! Wow!"

emily matthews (Fri May 08 12:05:04 2009)

I don't believe JD is running scared. He knows the end is near and it shows. All he cared about was the great WIS state pension plan formula.

Belleville (Fri May 08 16:17:38 2009)

Doyle has completely mismanaged the Wisconsin economy. After six years he is still trying to blame poor Scott McCallum.
The fact is that when Tommy came into office he fought for growth and more revenue. Doyle has just spent. He has spent our burial funds, our insurance funds, our transportation funds. He has spent like there is no tomorrow which now courtesy of him there isn't.
"Pass the buck" Jim Doyle. He surely is not any Truman.

Dohnal (Sat May 09 10:39:23 2009)

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