Gov. Jim Doyle and legislative leaders spoke to state business leaders Wednesday at the annual Business Day conference at the Monona Terrace about the recently proposed state stimulus plan.
According to state Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance, the stimulus is designed to create jobs, infrastructure improvements and credit fluidity and help balance the state budget.
We have to make sure we're doing what the real purpose of this bill is, which is to get people to work quickly and get people to work on projects that add long-term value to the state,"" Doyle said.
Both Miller and state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, emphasized the necessity of bipartisanship in the current economic climate.
""We agree on what we want for Wisconsin, but we disagree on how to get there,"" Miller said.
Doyle spoke about the parallels between businesses and the state, saying state government, like businesses, has had to make difficult job cuts.
By the end of the fiscal year, 10 percent of the positions in state agencies will be vacant, Doyle said.
""It's difficult,"" Doyle said. ""Those are real people, and behind those unemployment numbers that we hear and read about are '¦ good, hardworking people.""
Doyle said valuable programs, including education, health care and economic development, must be preserved.
""Throughout the state of Wisconsin we have made real investment, and the state has been a good partner in making sure we have businesses leading the economic effort and the economic development efforts in this state,"" Doyle said.
Neither the state nor businesses can walk away from the problem, he said. ""We have to keep momentum flowing.""
Citizens and businesses alike have had to make real decisions about what their priorities and values are and what they're willing to pay, Doyle said, emphasizing the importance of people working and contributing to the economy of the state.
""Our challenge is to make sure in Wisconsin that we are leveraging every single resource that is available to us in that bill and bring it to this state to make sure we are doing what we can to put people to work.
