James S. Haney: WMC is working to make state most competitive

James S. Haney  —  7/16/2008 5:29 am

WMC is 4,000 state businesses dedicated to making Wisconsin the most competitive state in the nation. It's that simple.

Unfortunately, The Capital Times' editorial of July 9 mischaracterized WMC's legacy of achievements over the years, and the record needs to be set straight.

WMC promotes public policies aimed at achieving our goal of making Wisconsin the most competitive state in the nation. That agenda is established by the WMC members and approved by the 52-member WMC board of directors from every corner of our state.

Our agenda is broad, and deep. The full text is online at www.wmc.org. The agenda promotes tax relief, rational environmental regulation, regulatory fairness, quality transportation, reliable energy, and high-quality education from kindergarten through technical schools and colleges.

And we promote those policies without regard for party or personality.

In the 1990s, WMC worked closely with both parties in the Legislature and Gov. Tommy Thompson to promote property tax relief, civil justice reform, school choice, regulatory relief and welfare reform.

We also opposed Thompson when he introduced a business tax hike. And Thompson was none too pleased when we highlighted the fact that Wisconsin's tax burden had crept up during his tenure. Both threatened our competitiveness.

WMC worked closely with Gov. Jim Doyle to cut corporate taxes and provide regulatory relief for heavy industry. And we opposed Doyle's vetoes of property tax freezes and civil justice reforms. Again, promoting good economic policies, opposing bad economic policies.

WMC takes action and promotes policies intended to improve our competitiveness as a state. We are like the umpire in a baseball game, not a cheerleader on the sidelines. We are on the field, calling it like we see it rather than mindlessly salving the egos of incumbents without regard for the economic implications of policies.

Not everyone agrees with us. And we compete with opposing groups daily to have our views prevail among policymakers. But our motivation is the belief that Wisconsin is the greatest state in the nation and we all need to band together to work diligently to make it even more competitive. We strive to make Wisconsin more competitive not only so businesses will thrive but also to ensure we have a high quality of life for all of our families.

While WMC is best known for our public policy advocacy, we also take a direct leadership role in our state with many other successful programs that aren't always perceived as "news" -- perhaps because they are positive and non-controversial.

WMC has been a leader in educating high school students and teachers for 27 years at our Business World summer program held on college campuses. Since the inception of Business World, WMC has educated more than 13,500 students and more than 2,500 teachers about how businesses operate and what exciting career opportunities there are in Wisconsin.

WMC is the home of the Wisconsin Council of Safety, which educates employers and workers on how to be safe and to prevent workplace injuries and death. The safety council is part of our legacy of helping businesses and their employees enjoy a high quality of life. Each year the council educates 6,500 workers at more than 250 training events, which leads to fewer injuries.

The council encourages all Wisconsin businesses to engage in safety best practices through the Wisconsin Corporate Safety Award. The award program honors companies whose safety practices lead to fewer injuries, higher productivity and greater profitability -- directly benefiting both workers and shareholders.

WMC promotes other best practices for businesses, including the hiring of people with disabilities or implementing strategies to better control health care costs by improving the health status of all employees. These initiatives help businesses grow to create more jobs for Wisconsin families.

WMC and our corporate partners sponsor the annual Manufacturer of the Year awards, which help manufacturers teach each other about how to improve their own productivity so that they can compete successfully in a global marketplace.

WMC hosts the annual Business Friend of the Environment Award, which promotes business leadership in sound environmental stewardship. For over a decade, these award winners have shared their successes with their peers and those environmental solutions have been spread throughout our state.

At WMC, we work diligently to make a great state even better.

And we offer the hand of friendship and cooperation to anyone who wants to join us in working to make Wisconsin the most competitive state in the nation.

James S. Haney is president of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. 

James S. Haney  —  7/16/2008 5:29 am