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This past year, many
families have struggled to make ends meet. Businesses have strained to keep
their doors open. That’s a fact in Wisconsin, across the country and all
around the world.
It’s sobering to think about the scope of the global recession, and the ways
it has affected so many of us. But, I think there’s some comfort in the
knowledge we’re all in this together. I believe that shared concern gives us
all a stake in the efforts to bring about economic recovery.
It’s clear that, in Wisconsin, we’ve already taken important steps on the
path to economic recovery and job creation. Earlier this year, Assembly
Democrats approved millions in worker training funds and extended
unemployment benefits to help Wisconsin families make it through this crisis
and prepare for the jobs of the future. We green-lighted more than $200
million worth of business-boosting credits and incentives that are already
generating new jobs and corporate growth all across Wisconsin.
Just this month, Republic Airways announced it would establish a major
airline hub in Milwaukee, creating or sustaining 1600 jobs. Mercury Marine
just wrapped up talks with the Department of Commerce that secure 2,700
family-supporting, full-time positions. Frito-Lay of Beloit, Northwoods
Paper of Beaver Dam, Fowler and Hammer of La Crosse, VitalMedix of Hudson,
Ryan Manufacturing of Schofield, and Seven Oaks Dairy of Kaukauna - they’re
all growing in Wisconsin. In fact, Logistics Health just announced an
expansion plan in La Crosse that will mean new jobs for our area.
It’s encouraging to see this growth, and to know that the new incentives and
worker training programs Assembly Democrats passed are responsible, in part,
for this good news. But, we have more work to do, to get Wisconsin’s economy
back on track. And I think it’s time for us to put our heads together to
figure out the state’s next move.
That’s exactly why Assembly Democrats have developed a group called
Wisconsin’s Partnership for a Stronger Economy. The Partnership includes
Republicans and Democrats, business leaders from all kinds of fields,
workforce development experts and labor representatives. Their political
backgrounds don’t matter - but their ideas sure do. I know that working as a
group, setting politics aside to focus on our shared goals, will be the most
effective way to create jobs and grow Wisconsin businesses.
We’ve got to remember, we’re all in this together. We’ve faced the
challenges of this economy together and, together, we can reach our goal of
setting Wisconsin on a track to economic stability and future success.
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