Local Business "Leaders" Maintain Unwavering Support For Scott Walker

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Last week, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch met with the area's business establishment collective in a warm-up sponsored by Forward Janesville to help clear the way for the organization's main event dinner party for Scott Walker. According to the Janesville Gazette however, she was "listening to their concerns about creating jobs and attracting employees."

Among the highlights from some of our business "leaders" were:

JG Excerpt:
Elizabeth Olson of R&R Concrete and Excavating said she couldn’t find people willing to work. “Everyone wants the glory jobs. Nobody wants to do construction,” she said. “A lot of people just don’t think it’s important to have a good, hard day’s work.”

Concrete construction is a grueling job that deserves a glorious paycheck - not the other way around. But one would think a business sounding this desperate for workers would have a list of links on their home Web page for job openings. However, none could be found. They do however post a link to an employment application at the bottom of their "About us" page. A quick view of the Gazette's jobs section also turned up zero help wanted ads from R&R.

Mark Bush of Data Dimensions said his company added jobs in this tough economy but it was difficult. He said it’s hard for Wisconsin companies to compete with foreign companies.

What's the fix? More state aid, government leverage and less taxes for you? What about the rest of us?

Bud Gayhart of the UW-Whitewater Small Business Development Center said businesses have been frustrated with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He said the DNR did not allow some businesses to expand because of nearby wetlands, even though the area wasn’t designated a wetland when the business opened.

The Janesville/Beloit/Rock County area is pock-marked with dozens upon dozens of vacant factory/warehouse/office buildings. Are you trying to me that regulations preventing the expansion of building over wetlands is a key reason why demand is down and jobs are scarce? Yeah, I think Bud is.

Kleefisch said many problems she has heard in Rock County are the same problems she has heard across the state. “What we need to do right now is help pull the private sector up by its bootstraps,” Kleefisch said.

Comment Quote from Gazette
GP -- "Isn't the expression pulling oneself up by one's own bootstraps? It kind of loses it's meaning when you enlist help."

Make no mistake, members of Forward Janesville know the company they keep. Despite some rumblings of dissatisfaction with Walker, none of them including the Janesville Gazette has stepped forward over the past several weeks to publicly condemn Scott Walker or his plans. Instead they seem more determined than ever to make sure his plans happen.