Business leaders credited lawmakers with Wisconsin’s position as one of the most business friendly states in a ranking released Tuesday.
Wisconsin moved up three spots from 20th to 17th in the 2013 rankings produced by CEO magazine, according to a statement from the National Federation of Independent Businesses. The jump is one of the biggest gains for the state since 2010, the statement said.
The rankings show Wisconsin is moving in the right direction for business, Rep. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, said. Small business owners voiced their approval of the policies adopted by the state government that favor business, he said.
Bill Smith, NFIB’s Wisconsin director, said the ranking is likely the result of Gov. Scott Walker’s focus on small business growth in his agenda.
The state government has focused on lower taxes, a better regulatory climate, a better legal environment and improving fiscal responsibility, Smith said. The administration’s commitment to small business shows in the overall rankings, he said.
“The Legislature has set an agenda creating an environment for economic opportunity and small business growth,” Smith said in the statement. “It’s also a tremendously important advantage to have a governor who listens to the business community and, most importantly, follows through on the feedback he gets from small business owners.”
However, the rankings only give a small glimpse into the overall economy of the state, according to Robert Kraig, Citizen Action of Wisconsin executive director. He said while the rankings show Wisconsin is one of the top states in business friendliness, other rankings indicate the state is 44th in the nation in job creation.
“I kind of think these rankings are not worth the paper they are written on,” Kraig said. “The state can serve business people all over the country, but there is not much job creation going on here compared to the rest of the country.”
Kraig explained that the rankings show businesses and business leaders approve of the action taken in the state to improve the climate for business. However, the work done by lawmakers has not convinced them to move their companies to the state or keep jobs in the state, he said.
He added in addition to other numbers, Wisconsin is also leading the nation in the number of jobs exported to China, among other countries.
Jacque said the rankings are good to see but lawmakers must continue to move forward and focus on helping businesses in the state.
“There are a lot of different rankings from a lot of different organizations with a lot of different criteria,” Jacque said. “I try not to get hung up on that. Our most important job as law makers is to make sure we are moving in the right direction.”
Jacque said the Legislature will be looking at ways they can encourage investment in the state. He added they also will focus on encouraging existing businesses to expand within the state. The state was not making these changes before and that may have contributed to a lower ranking, he said.
Overall, lawmakers from both parties agree that the state needs to continue to look at how it can encourage business in Wisconsin, Jacque said.
