Mailbag: 10/31
You can help grow your local economy
There’s an answer for how to lower our high taxes and provide more dollars to our schools and meet other community needs.
Throughout history, it’s the only answer. Whether raising hundreds of millions of people out of dire poverty in China or India, or raising per capita incomes in states and regions of America, the answer is to create more wealth. The alternative plan, to spread existing wealth around, has brought down once great nations. We need to create more jobs and bake a bigger economic pie locally and nationally.
In Littleton Colo., Chris Gibbons developed an approach to economic development called Economic Gardening. Gibbons is right when he says that only entrepreneurs create jobs, not governments or economic developers.
Economic Gardening is working for Littleton and the communities and regions adopting it nationwide. EG provides tools for communities to assist entrepreneurs, especially those with "second-stage companies." Second stage companies are vital to recovering from our current downturn and for our economic prosperity. Most job growth in this nation and our region comes from first stage (0-9 employees) and second stage (10-99 employees) with minimal growth or actual declines in larger companies.
Are you ready to be part of the answer by helping your community to improve its local economy? Learn about Economic Gardening direct from Chris Gibbons at www.littletongov.org/bia/economicgardening/. Find tools from the Edward Lowe Foundations at www.YourEconomy.org.
Most important, get involved locally. Start with a contact to the economic development group for your county: Grant: Ron Brisbois (608) 822-3501; Lafayette: Joanne Ehasz (608) 776-8080; Iowa: Rick Terrien (608) 930-2000; Richland: Meegan Thompson (608) 647-4310; Sauk: Karna Hanna (608) 355-2084; Green: Anna Schramke (608) 328-9452; Juneau: Terry Whipple (608) 427-2070; Columbia: Nancy Elsing (608) 742-6161; Vernon: Sue Noble (608) 637-5396.
It’s also important to celebrate our local entrepreneurs. A new statewide award program, "Wisconsin Companies to Watch," creates a great opportunity to express gratitude to our local business owners for providing jobs and wealth in our community. Learn about the program and how to nominate a company (or a company can self-nominate) at www.wenportal.org/.
Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) represents a large region of southwest Wisconsin and welcomes opportunities to help communities achieve their development goals. Contact him at sen.schultz@legis.wi.gov or www.senatordaleschultz.com.
Thanks for Bike and Walk Week
On behalf of the Baraboo Schools Bike and Walk Week Committee, I would like to express our appreciation to everyone who contributed to the 2009 Baraboo Schools Bike and Walk Week held on Oct. 5-9.
More than 950 students participated either by walking or biking to school or by partaking in alternative activities at school. This event was organized to help encourage the health of participants. Walking or cycling to and from school is an ideal way to get some physical activity at no extra cost to the child or family and to help protect the environment.
The following donated prizes for the event: Baraboo Police Department, Baraboo School District pool, Baraboo Culvers, Baraboo Sears, Dairy Queen, Domino’s Pizza, Green Plan-It, Ho-Chunk House of Wellness, Jeff Janek American Family Insurance, Mount Olympus, Pizza Ranch, Al. Ringling Theatre, Kris Stanton State Farm Insurance, Thunderbird Lanes, Walmart, Wildside Adventure Sports.
The St. Clare Health Care Foundation’s Healthy Community Partnership Grant also made it possible for participants to receive a free, healthful breakfast at their schools.
Also, thank you to Mayor Patrick Liston for proclaiming the Bike and Walk Week.
Thank you for supporting the 2009 Baraboo Schools Bike and Walk Week.
Penny Pohle, education coordinator, Sauk County Land Conservation
Let’s put needs before wants
Now while the same high school and rest of the school district fights for fiscal survival, I saw and read two incredible examples of fiscal irresponsibility. The downtown merchants are raising money to get a kiddie park downtown; that’s right, a kiddie park, because we need some green in our sprawling city landscape among the skyscrapers, cabs, and subway stations. Reading the paper today, my jaw dropped. The city agreed to pay $350,000 for a piece of unused property along the river because they may use it at some point at a later time and have two other pieces they are currently "sitting on." I know there are extenuating circumstances with each example but can we please appear to have our priorities straight? The homeless can go homeless and the school district can go bankrupt as long as the city’s aesthetics come first? I do agree that downtown can be beautified to improve tourism and business. My wife and I frequent downtown almost daily and would love to see it and the Al. Ringling Theatre restored to its original beauty. But we must account for needs before wants. Mark Hamdan-Krause, Baraboo Uncle Sam is a lousy manager A preview of health care — Obama style. Example: The current boondoggle relevant to the supply of the H1N1 vaccine is beyond belief. Just imagine if the Obama take-over plan is successful. Try and name one thing that the federal government either runs or manages that runs properly. Go ahead, anybody, try and think of one without waste and massive mismanagement. You can ponder this thought all day, because there isn’t one. Uncle is a lousy manager. Private enterprise has proven much better. Leave it alone. Dick Napier, Baraboo