Milwaukee must do everything in its power to keep Miller
Brewing Company?s headquarters in the city.

Miller?s recent merger with Molson Coors could have
devastating effects on a city in dire need of an economic success story. The
merger will combine the nation?s second- and third-most profitable brewers in
hopes of competing more vigorously with the likes of Anheuser-Busch.

The merged companies are in the process of deciding where
their new corporate headquarters will be located. The options are Miller?s
current headquarters in Milwaukee, Coors? current headquarters in Golden,
Colo., as well as Dallas, Kansas City or Chicago.

Milwaukee?s potential loss of Miller is a classic example of
a Rust Belt town that benefited from the post-World War II boom and is now
feeling the negative effects of globalization.

After the war, Milwaukee became a national leader in manufacturing,
with a strong unionized workforce and profitable businesses such as Miller
Brewing, Harley Davidson, Alice Chalmers, Briggs and Stratton and countless
other brewers and manufacturers.

While many of these businesses remain in the Milwaukee area,
the general trend has been toward outsourcing and downsizing.

Miller, long a staple in the Milwaukee economy, may continue
this trend if the Milwaukee 7, a panel of representatives of seven southeastern
Wisconsin counties, is unable to find a way to convince the company?s new board
of directors to keep it in Milwaukee.

Certainly, if the headquarters were to move, it would not be
the end of the world. Company officials have already said that all its
breweries would remain in operation. The major job losses would come in
Milwaukee?s corporate offices where 800 people are currently employed.

But the real fallout would be the moral defeat for the city.
At a time when Milwaukee tries to get itself back on its feet economically,
this sort of loss would be a major blow, especially to groups such as the
Milwaukee 7, who have been working so hard to attract corporate headquarters to
the region. If Milwaukee cannot even hang on to Miller, its longtime
cornerstone, what hopes would remain for attracting new headquarters to the
region?

Luckily, Greater Milwaukee?s Business Journal reported that
?no cities have been ruled out,? according to Miller officials, claiming the
selection process has not even begun.

The truth is Milwaukee needs to reevaluate its whole
business philosophy. The city needs to change its approach from simply trying
to figure out how to keep companies from leaving to figuring out how they are
going to improve the city?s business climate to the point at which it can
attract new companies.

In the short term, yes, Milwaukee needs to do everything it
can to court the new MillerCoors corporation, but this situation is
representative of a much larger problem facing the city.

Realistically, why would a business want to relocate to
Milwaukee right now? City officials try to sell the city to corporations by
touting its new east side developments, its international access via Mitchell
International Airport, the Port of Milwaukee and its rich brewing history.
While these are all wonderful parts of the city, is that really enough to lure
business to the region? After all, the airport and ports are available in most
major cities.

Milwaukee has a lot to offer as a city with its central
location, first-class convention centers ? like the Midwest Airlines Convention
Center ? its rich cultural traditions and ethnic festivals and the tourism
these festivals generate. It also has a skilled and hardworking labor force,
which is its biggest asset. But these factors, though attractive aspects of the
city, are not what will attract new businesses to it.

Milwaukee must think in terms of the long run and turn
itself back into the favorable business climate it once was. The Milwaukee 7
and local politicians must recognize that in order for the city to attract new
businesses, they must find a way to make state and local taxes more competitive
with other regions.

When the state is running a deficit, it seems absurd to
suggest commercial and industrial tax cuts. But the fact is that Wisconsin?s
high taxes are driving businesses out and keeping them from coming here. Even
high tax rates will not generate state revenue if all the businesses have been
driven out. However, low taxes will attract new businesses and in turn more
revenue for the state.

Additionally, the city needs to continue investment and
exploration into a more viable mass transit system. It must work to integrate
itself with the vast educational resources within the state by funneling in
graduates from institutions such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
UW-Milwaukee, Marquette University and the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The
innovative minds of these students are a huge asset in the drive to establish
new higher-tech forms of industry and fresh ways of thinking about the
Milwaukee economy.

There is still hope for Milwaukee. It has unbelievable
amounts of untapped potential, and its future will rely on bright young minds
such as the ones produced at our fine institution. Right now, Milwaukee must do
everything it can to not only keep but also attract businesses like MillerCoors
to the city.

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Joe Trovato ([email protected]) is a sophomore
majoring in journalism.