Men's Journal bets on Milwaukee's future.

By Jeff Sherman OnMilwaukee.com Staff Writer E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Jeff Sherman

Published May 19, 2008 at 9:00 p.m.

3 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

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Posted by Trey26 on May 30, 2008 at 9:55 a.m. (report)

Jason - although I agree with you that it would be nice if Milwaukee is smoke free, I do not think the city should decide for everyone. Further and more importantly, being smoke free is hardly the most important criteria for what makes a city great or is an indicator that it is on the rebound. If the city wants to attract more residents and businesses that provide quality jobs (true indicators that the city is making a comeback) then it needs to reduce property and corporate taxes. If 1 in 5 businesses either have or are considering moving, that does not bode well for the city's long-term sustainability. Think about it - people follow the jobs. If a person's job leaves the area, people will leave as well. However, with gas prices as high as they are, it isn't unreasonable to think people would be willing to live closer to their jobs (i.e. downtown) if: 1) the jobs were present; 2) enough retail businesses were in their vicinity; and 3) the property taxes didn't prohibit homeownership. I recognize the fact that the high price of gas is a more recent phenomonom, but it is probably here to stay. As an aside, homeownership is a reliable indicator that an individual is more likely committed to the city vs. renters which are typically more transient. When the city makes it a disadvantage to own versus rent, it is sending the wrong message. Clearly, whether or not a city is smoke free does not make it great or less than great; there are other much more important factors.

Posted by mkelover on May 21, 2008 at 7:53 a.m. (report)

Well fortunately for you Jason there are literally dozens and dozens of great restaurants and a growing list of bars that have chosen ON THEIR OWN to go smoke free. Why is it so hard for you to choose to patronize those places that are smoke-free? Don't you think that business-owners would get the hint that going smoke-free is good for their particular business? Government sticking their nose into the business practices of privately-owned business will NOT make this city great.

Posted by Milwaukee Jason on May 20, 2008 at 8:26 p.m. (report)

Milwaukee will not become a great city until it goes smoke free. I wouldn't dream of going out to a bar or restaurant that allow smoking. It's time to get out of the stone age and get with the program.

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