As I’ve been constantly writing about, the focus of this legislature right now should be finding ways to get our economy back on track so it can create new jobs. Beginning this month the legislature will start debating draft legislation that was crafted over the last 9 months to curve Wisconsin’s emission of greenhouse gasses (GHG). This legislation will include numerous polices to curve GHG emissions in Wisconsin recommended by the Governors Taskforce on Global Warming, including a Wisconsin only cap and trade program.

However, a report issued by the Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy Research at Suffolk University shows that the policies under recommendation will have a devastating effect on Wisconsin’s economy. The report The Economics of Climate Change, which can be found here. In summary, if the legislations adopts the boards recommendations:

• Will eliminate 68,860 private sector jobs.
• Will reduce disposable income by $1,162 per person.
• Cause domestic investment to fall by $1.1 billion.
• Increase costs to Wisconsin motorists by $3.3 billion by 2020.

The purpose of this taskforce was to get various business interests together, along with the government and environmental groups, to develop an action plan for Wisconsin to deal with its emission of GHG. The flaw in the group however was that they weren’t required to evaluate the costs of addressing climate change. So what does this mean? It means that with 250,000 people already looking for a job, the authors of the legislation don’t do not care if we add another 68,860 added to that total.

The proposal, called the Clean Energy Jobs Act, maybe should be renamed to the Clean Jobs out of Wisconsin Act. There is no doubt that the proposed legislation will hold back Wisconsin’s economy and cost us jobs, family income, and higher utility rates. I agree that the climate is changing, however the causes are up for debate. While its prudent to look at reducing Wisconsin’s reliance on fossil fuels, I can’t support a proposal that will cause such a negative effect on our economy.

What the state needs to do is lift the moratorium on nuclear energy. We can also provided more job and tax incentives to lure more international investment here in Wisconsin. Then we will be creating new jobs here.

Generating clean power should be a priority, but not with mandates that families right now can ill afford.

Every 2 years the State of Wisconsin publishes a one-stop resource for anything related to state government. In addition, this year’s feature article is on “Wisconsin at the Frontiers of Astronomy: A History of Innovation and Exploration.”

My office has limited copies, and if you would like to receive one, please email or call and my staff will be glad to send one to you.