Wisconsin’s competitive edge slipping
Anyone from the upper Midwest will attest to competition between states. I frequently declare myself a Minnesota expatriate, banished to the land of Wisconsin. When push comes to shove, Minnesota wins.
And apparently, Minnesota wins more frequently than Wisconsin.
A report today released by a group of business leaders across the state delivered news of a Wisconsin underperforming neighbors Illinois and Minnesota, particularly in job growth and education.
Although Wisconsin churns out students with high college entrance exam scores, they apparently leave when they graduate from college. Only 25% of the state’s population has at least a bachelor’s degree, less than the U.S. average of 27.7%. In Minnesota, 34% of the population is college-educated.
In Gov. Doyle’s State of the State address, he spoke of the state’s need to intervene in the crisis in Milwaukee. And it is a crisis. Milwaukee is the state’s largest city and economic hub. It is the city and region through which business leaders are introduced to Wisconsin. Yet only 12.3% of the population over age 25 has at least a bachelor’s degree. At 20.7%, the population of college dropouts is striking.
The report wasn’t all doom and gloom, but it demonstrated stagnant action on the part of state economic indicators. The lack of growth combined with troubling education stats is a perfect recipe for future disaster. Rather than focusing on problems at Mayfair, it’s time to have a real discussion — with real solutions — to work toward fixing the problems that plague Milwaukee.
Of course, the Minnesotan in me will keep welcoming the move to that great state.
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Daniel Ross-Jones serves as Minister for Youth & Young Adults at First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, United Church of Christ. Living in the San Francisco Bay Area for a time still measured in months, he is frequently getting lost and discovering treasures of a landscape very different from his Upper Midwestern roots. Green Jello Hotdish is a blog exploring the intersections of his days. 
