Expecting Different Results

Even though, as others have pointed out, Forward Wisconsin has been largely unsuccessful at being a "game changer," under a proposal recently passed by the Legislature, Commerce Department Privatization Approved, Wisconsin plans to drudge forward (regardless of the historical ineffectiveness of such public-private partnerships here and elsewhere) privatizing the Commerce Department.

As posted previously:

A new report by Good Jobs First, The Risk In Privatizing State Economic Development Agencies, couldn't be more timely.

An excerpt of their findings:

Most of the seven states that currently make use of economic development public-private partnerships (PPPs) have experienced a variety of performance problems. These include the following:

• Misuse of taxpayer funds (Rhode Island, Florida and Wyoming)
• Excessive executive bonuses (Virginia, Florida, Michigan and Wyoming)
• Questionable subsidy awards by the subset of PPPs that have a role in that process (Michigan and Rhode Island)
• Conflicts of interest in subsidy awards (Florida, Utah and Texas, which makes limited use of PPPs)
• Questionable claims by the PPP about its effectiveness (Wyoming, Florida, Utah and Indiana)
• Resistance to accountability (Florida and Michigan)

Does it really surprise anyone that Republicans are plowing forward with an agenda immersed in cronyism (tort reform, conceal carry, public-private partnerships, tax credits, voter ID, to name a few) and completely lacking in anything resembling an effective employment initiative or job creation strategy?