Milwaukee Biz Blogger talks up competition

Today’s Small Business Times “Milwaukee Biz Blog” features an excellent commentary by Southeastern Wisconsin businessman Bob Lee.

The whole thing is a great read – the premise is that good businesses like Lee’s Kenosha-based plumbing company embrace competition, they don’t try to kill it. Here are a few highlights:

“If they’re successful, the Potawatomi will kill more than just competition – they’ll kill economic opportunity for our region and state. They’ll kill the opportunity for 3,000 good-paying jobs guaranteed for Southeast Wisconsin residents, hundreds of millions of dollars for local schools and government, and billions of dollars in payments to the State of Wisconsin. The Potawatomi like to brag that they pay more to the State than any other tribe or business. The Menominee would pay even more than Potawatomi – provided their casino gets built.

“The latest weapon in Potawatomi’s anti-competition arsenal is a series of expensive and annoying television and radio ads complaining that a small portion of Kenosha casino money will go to the Connecticut tribe helping the impoverished Menominee get the project off the ground.

“You heard that right – the Potawatomi want people to be mad because an out-of-state entity is making a significant investment to grow business and create jobs in Southeastern Wisconsin. The next thing you know, the Potawatomi will be protesting DaimlerChrysler’s $450 million retooling of its Kenosha engine plant. They’ll stage sit-ins at the site of Illinois-based Abbott Labs’ proposed new Kenosha corporate campus. Maybe they’ll walk picket lines in Miller Valley to protest Miller Brewing Company’s foreign ownership. The Potawatomi argument is seriously flawed and absurd.”

What’s your take on closing Wisconsin’s doors to out-of-state business investment? Leave us a comment, and be sure to sign the online petition for real competition and economic growth in Southeastern Wisconsin.