What's the real picture on joblessness in Milwaukee? At a conference I attended this past weekend titled OneMilwaukee and sponsored by the NAACP, Mayor Tom Barrett estimated that there are 30,000 people out of work presently and up to 20,000 jobs lost in the city since 2007. He went on to describe the dilemma he faces as mayor.
It turns out that in the 21st century, Wisconsin's reliance on manufacturing and agriculture are strengths and strategic assets, not weaknesses or inherent obstacles.
Last week, Tim Sheehy of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce suggested extending the Miller Park sales tax as a way to finance a future renovation or replacement of the Bradley Center. The 0.1 percent tax, established in 1996, is still a delicate subject in the five-county area where it is in effect. Extending it to build a new facility for the Bucks makes sense on the surface but it is the wrong solution.
For decades, Milwaukee has lacked a common vision among its leaders. The powers that be seemed to toil in their own respective silos, and the community flailed away, grappling with the issues of poverty, crime, education, transit, infrastructure and economic development. As a community, we all seemed to want progress, but without change. Out of necessity, that community disconnect may be changing.
The Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state's largest business advocacy group, would do well to consider Tim Sheehy, current president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, as its next president and CEO.