OPINION & EDITORIAL
State must confront brain drain issue
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Also by Jeff Carnes:
- Gay frat diversifies Greeks (May 4, 2007)
- Problems in city's environment vast (April 26, 2007)
- State budget must keep UW in mind (April 19, 2007)
- Students should take responsiblity for credit card debts (April 12, 2007)
- State must confront brain drain issue (March 29, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Plans risk injuring Madison's image (March 15, 2005)
- UW stems brain drain (December 2, 2001)
- UW needs true study day (March 21, 2007)
- Have fun, safe spring break (March 9, 2006)
- Spring elections story misleading (December 12, 2006)
by Jeff Carnes
Thursday, March 29, 2007
As we are one day away from spring break, most of our brains are nowhere near Van Hise or the psychology building. Personally, I am taking my final midterm today, leaving campus after my final class and getting out of Madison as soon as possible for a few days. For those of us who have not left already, our plans for spring break include going home, getting some well-deserved relaxation around the Madison area, or traveling somewhere with sun and sand in order to forget our midterms, papers and textbooks for a week. For many of us — myself included — spring break means escaping Wisconsin in order to head south to the Texas Gulf Coast, Florida beaches, Colorado slopes for some late-season skiing, the Outer Banks of North Carolina or the Las Vegas Strip.
And when we graduate, 30 percent of us will leave Wisconsin permanently for these same states.
The Wisconsin "brain drain" has attracted occasional media attention for the past five years. The Badger Herald reported Wednesday that some UW officials attribute the supposed "brain drain" to not attracting enough college graduates to move to Wisconsin, while it is argued Wisconsin has been successful in retaining a high percentage of in-state graduates. So, why is Wisconsin having problems appealing to our peers from California, Kansas and Virginia?
Wisconsin does have some major drawbacks, especially for those who have never been to the Midwest. Braving a winter here is no easy task; television images of the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field in December deter plenty of would-be Wisconsinites from ever stepping foot in our state.
For college students who had to deal with the blowing north wind off of Lake Mendota the past three months, this seems to be a logical conclusion. Winter is not a pleasant experience, and I missed the Arizona desert heat on many bitter cold mornings walking on Charter Street.
Other Midwestern states have similar problems. The Iowa Civic Analysis Network reported in 2006 that Iowa has had the second-highest net migration rate of young, single college graduates from its state and was edged out only by North Dakota. For those of us born and raised in Wisconsin, this may not be a surprise. After all, who would ever want to move to Iowa?
Of course, those raised in California or Florida could say the same about Wisconsin.
It is easy to blame the winter or the image of Wisconsin as being overweight, beer-drinking, brat-eating, cheese-hat-wearing country bumpkins for the lack of twenty-somethings wanting to move here. But that's not entirely accurate. While states such as Wisconsin and Iowa have had difficulties in attracting young professionals, our even more frigid neighbor to the north actually has had a net gain in college graduates.
Minnesota has attracted more college graduates despite being farther north and having the reputation of being portrayed as backward, rural redneck, pseudo-Canadians in Fargo and Drop Dead Gorgeous. Having a reputation for being a snow-bound rural state for four months a year has, in fact, not swayed college graduates from moving there. The fact that Minnesota has made a concerted effort to attract high-tech industries to the Twin Cities and beyond has made it an alluring option to those holding a two-year or four-year degree. In addition, according to the Wisconsin Technology Network, Minnesota has widened the gap between it and Wisconsin in terms of per capita income. Minnesota has overcome some of the negative aspects of its climate and reputation by emphasizing its growing high-tech industry as a low-cost alternative to Seattle or the Bay Area.
While Minnesota has succeeded in attracting would-be job applicants to the Midwest, Wisconsin has not, in part due to the fact that it continues to hold on to its agricultural and manufacturing past — industries that, for better or for worse, have been shrinking and will continue to decline. In order for Wisconsin to be able to compete in attracting more talent to the Dairy State, the state must learn from the types of industry growth in Minnesota and the city of Madison. Madison and Dane County is the fastest growing area in the state, and this is in large part due to the growth of high-tech companies in the area. The rest of the state could benefit from competing with high-growth states by advertising itself as a state that has much more to offer than just beer and cheese.
Brain drain in Wisconsin has been a problem for the past decade. Unless the state makes a more organized effort to attract companies for which college graduates from outside of Wisconsin want to work, graduates willing to move to the Midwest will continue to bypass Wisconsin on the way north to Minnesota.
Jeff Carnes (jmcarnes@wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in linguistics.
Anonymous (March 29, 2007 @ 2:58am):
ADAM LANG APPROVES THIS MESSAGE
Anonymous (March 29, 2007 @ 4:08am):
It would have been interesting if you noted how many young college grads moved to wisconsin to work for cheese, brat, and beer plants. MMMMM Beer Brats.....
Anonymous (March 29, 2007 @ 7:20am):
Hot chicks. Girls want to hang out with them, and dudes want to "hang out" with them. Now, how do we attract hot chicks to Wisconsin? Maybe California has a hot chick locum tenens program.
Anonymous (March 29, 2007 @ 9:49am):
Way to turn what could have been a good piece into inane drivel about the weather. "Its cold in Wisconsin" No kidding. What you probably should have focused more on is the fact that WI is lagging in at least two, if not three of the primary new(er) economic growth areas in terms of jobs, those being engineering, computer sciences, and biotechnology. Of the later Wisconsin, despite the some in the state government's best attempts, is doing Ok in. The main reason that Texas, Minnesota, California etc are doing well in attracting "brains" is because they are heavily growing these three economic secotrs. California's stem cell initiative alone is prospected to attract major talent from all over the US, including Wisconsin, the state that developed the technology that will now make California more scientifically prosperous. As a current biotech worker I have been tempted to more out of state to find work, but have been lucky enough to find a good paying job in my field. Many of my friends who graduated in the same field have had to go elsewhere to find work in biotech, including Texas and California. If Wisconsin was succesfuly able to grow tech (bio and computer) jobs then maybe the cold would matter. With a good salary you can heat your house any day of the year.
Anonymous (March 29, 2007 @ 10:44am):
Wisconsin is backwards and full of bigots. That's enough to get me and most of my friends to check out immediately upon getting a degree.
Anonymous (March 29, 2007 @ 12:04pm):
"Wisconsin is backwards and full of bigots."
Northern Man don't need you around.
Anonymous (March 29, 2007 @ 12:30pm):
Wisconsin is backwards and full of bigots.
And may I add, that I will be moving immediately to Arkansas, South Dakota, Mississippi, Florida, Texas, Iowa, South Carolina, or anywhere else without bigots and backwardness.
Anonymous (March 29, 2007 @ 1:42pm):
I considered moving my business "across the river" from Minnesota 5 years ago. As a UW alum and having grown up in the state, I would have loved to have moved home.
Let's not forget the tax situation as part of the equation.
Wisconsin is a high-tax state.
Minnesota offers economic incentives to relocate your business there - or stay there for that matter. Wisconsin, by contrast, is pretty lax in that respect. Some localities will offer packages, but the state pretty much couldn't care less. They may sing a different tune for, say, a Boeing plant. But they are not interested in a small business.
Property taxes - since equalized valuation was adopted - increase annually. Your neighbor sells his house and the "value" of yours goes up automatically. Splendid. Unless various government entities reduce their millrates, your property taxes go up. (When was the last time any government agency decided they could do will with fewer "dollars" next year.) My mother had to sell the house she has lived in for 60 years (and I grew up in) last year when she could no longer afford the taxes on her fixed income. Taxed out of her house by equalized valuation. Unfortunately, this is very common in Wisconsin.
Gas taxes - although the legislature fixed this last session - were indexed and automatically increased each April. This is the main reason Wisconsin has one of the highest gasoline taxes in the nation. In Minnesota, which is also a high-taxed state, the gas tax is $.20. In Wisconsin it's $.31. Only an 11 cent difference, but it adds up.
Gutless legislatures put automatic indexing or "equalized valuation" calculations into the tax mix so that governmental revenues can continue to grow yet they can say "hey, I did't vote for the increase. That other legislature did it."
There are many reasons people don't flow to Wisconsin and why there is a "brain drain" exodus. Taxes are a part of it. Someday, try to explain to your high-tech employees that the "quality of life" in Wisconsin is worth the tax burden. Mine didn't buy it, and neither did I. Sadly.
If you're curious and would like to look at some numbers, check out the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance at http://www.wistax.org/
Anonymous (March 29, 2007 @ 2:58pm):
"For many of us -- myself included -- spring break means escaping Wisconsin in order to head south to the Texas Gulf Coast..."
Dear lord, you're going to Texas's Gulf Coast for spring break? Do you mean Galveston? Hope you aren't planning on going swimming, unless you like swimming in waters that have the same color and temperature of coffee. You'll come out with a nice glossy finish, perfect for pan frying. And I hope you like looking at oil derricks on the horizon.
I'll take the drumlins and the Kettle Moraine of SE Wisconsin over Texas anyday.
Anonymous (March 29, 2007 @ 3:16pm):
MN is a higher tax state than is WI
Anonymous (March 29, 2007 @ 5:23pm):
Physicians are coming to Wisconsin because of our Patient Compensation Fund and low malpractice insurance.
Anonymous (April 28, 2008 @ 12:06pm):
I left Madison and Milwaukee about 10 years ago and still live in Colorado. My wife and I visit 2 or 3 times a year and I always feel guilty for leaving her family. My family all died or moved south. Lots of my close friends moved out west to follow the high tech boom at the time or just to get away. Of those that moved back to Wisco did so because they missed their close family. Of thoses that never moved back knew that they would not be compensated enough, not see a superior job growth potential, hated the idea of cold/grey winters, did not see outdoor activity as very good, or simply just don't like it there. For myself, I view the midwest as a place with a lot of family love but also a lot of past family bitterness and hardships as well as plenty of bitter social experiences (crime, fighting, segregation, drug/Alc abuse, grumpy folks). But what keeps me from moving back is the thought of raising my children in an unhealthy enviroment (long cold/grey winters, seeing old friends become alcohalics, hearing about increased child obesity) as well as a lack of a prosperous economy (job outsourcing, week pay raises, lack of large funding for all new innovation). What would make it encouraging to move back is to see a rapid large and broad scale rise of investments in something new. It would need to make the west coast look like they are behind the times. Also, I would need to see obesity rapidly climbing down and healthy/active lifestyles replace the culture of eating/drinking. I don't want to say that is impossible, but I know there is a better chance that I will need to move back because of the remaining family is suffering from terminal deseases.
As Bob n Brian (94wkti) use to always say,
"You can't win"....
{I never did like that way of thinking}
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