Wisconsin is already working from behind, thanks to the
backward policies of Scott Walker.
At this critical moment, coming off the Great Recession,
emerging job creating industries are being blackballed by Scott Walker and the
Republican legislature. Liberal avoidance is their political philosophy, and
anything branded “Democratic” is not welcome here including the biotech
industry.
LaCrosse Tribune: Democrat Sen. Julie Lassa said lawmakers are excluding the biotechnology and life science companies from the (Venture Capital bill). Lassa said she suspects the biotechnology companies were excluded from the legislation because conservative lawmakers and religious groups oppose embryonic stem cell research.
Quick to deny the obvious, “long term” is not a Republican
goal, when quick gratification wins them votes.
But Sen. Albert Darling dismissed the speculation, noting the bill is intended to go after industries that can return investments and create jobs quickly … Wisconsin Technology Council's President Tom Still said although biotechnology businesses are important, they take longer to grow from an idea to maturity.
Biotech companies do get investment money from WEDC, but not
enough, and WEDC board member Paul Radspinner, president of Madison-based
FluGen Inc. said, “an investment in the company today
could lead to new jobs in the state.”
Radspinner said losing that investment would force the company to move to other states where capital is available.
He said he is troubled that it's the Legislature, rather than an investment manager, that decides which types of companies have the best potential. "How do our legislators with no experience in this area have the foresight to make the choice of the winning industries that will take less time (to grow)?" Radspinner asked.
A bill banning the use of fetal tissue is in the works,
sending the Republican message we don’t want you here.
jsonline: Republican Rep. Andre Jacque (R- De Pere) said his proposal would ensure scientific integrity … (it) would ban the sale or use of aborted fetal tissue for research in Wisconsin...the bill could criminalize "a whole raft of research" by banning widely-used cell lines derived from fetal tissue in the 1970s.
And yet:
Channel3000: Madison ranks fifth in top ten cities for high tech jobs according to a Brookings Institute study. MarketWatch, an online entity of The Wall Street Journal, published the list … STEM economies refer to jobs that require knowledge in science, technology, engineering or math by metropolitan area. Madison came in at No. 5 … The article lists the UW campus, UW Hospitals and Clinics, and Epic as institutions that offer high tech jobs and opportunities. The article notes that nine of the 100 largest employers in the Madison area are biotechnology companies.
“This ranking shows Madison has all of the ingredients to become the innovation capitol of the Midwest. Working together, our regions can lead the way in Wisconsin’s growth,” Aaron Olver, director of the City of Madison’s economic development division, said in a statement.
The UW is going to see a mass defection of researchers to other universities and commercial research labs. You can bet that headhunters are already contacting them with the question: "Do you really want to wait around in Hooterville to see what happens to your career or get out now?"
ReplyDeleteThe Republicans have injected an unprecedented level of uncertainty into the Wisconsin economy through their shock-doctrine policies. They are getting very good at it and even better at blaming the uncertainty on others.