A very Catholic mazel tov to the Journal Sentinel edit board for heaping derision (albeit without naming names) on the likes of Charlie Sykes, Owen Robinson and its very own Patrick McIlheran for their baying over Wisconsin's "tax hell" status. In this case, it related to the announced deal between Miller and Coors.
The barking over taxes last week came as Miller Brewing Co. was announcing that it had formed a joint venture with Coors Brewing Co., of Golden, Colo., to create a much larger, more competitive business.
But . . . owoooo! We've got such a problem with taxes - owoooo! - that maybe we can't compete with Colorado!
Let's put a muzzle on that argument for just a moment.
Listening to Charlie Sykes whine about the article this morning -- the gist of his plaint was "The JS is saying we should just shush and pretend there's not a problem" -- was eminently entertaining.
Because, of course, for all of Chuck's purported toughminded realism, tax rates are not at the top of the list in a major corporation's HQ location decision. Talent pool, yes. Proximity to customers, yes. Physical assets, yes. But tax rates? Last the Brawler's checked, the tax hells of California (#47 compared to Wisconsin's #39) and the East Coast (New York is #47) are home to a fair number of businesses.
The JS makes that point:
The best cards include a skilled work force across a range of industries, a convenient airport with proximity to one of the largest air hubs in the world, expertise in business finance, a location astride one of the largest fresh water sources in the world and Milwaukee's many cultural amenities. And don't forget that businesses and their employees have ready access to knowledge, cultural and technical centers in Chicago and Madison.
Thirty-seven Fortune 500 companies call the Chicago/Milwaukee corridor home - eight in the Milwaukee region alone. Milwaukee is a national leader in business clout by that measure on a per-capita basis. There is a reason for that. It's still a good place to do business.
"This is a vibrant corridor, in terms of what would trip the trigger on a corporate headquarters location," said Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
Now, the Brawler wishes the JS would have skewered the study that Sykes et al cite in their moanings - it cherrypicks data, it doesn't measure how tax rates affect a company's cost of doing business -- as did Paul Soglin. But you can't have everything.
In the meantime. though, it's good to see the JS have the stones to actually stand up to Sykes' know-nothing rhetoric. Perhaps they recognize not challenging Sykes' BS rhetoric is bad for the city.
More, please.
The Socrates of West Bend has more.
The small-minded focus on the selfishness of paying taxes without being able to see that taxes aren't the issue. Services are the palce to start these discussion and then the costs of providing services can be calculated.
The Adulterer Sykes and Belling are paid to deliver outrage to listeners for the benefit of their advertisers. Dooley and Robinson provide it on their own time.
Posted by: grumps | October 17, 2007 at 07:24 AM