Obama, Barrett, Should Tout Menomonee Valley/Jobs' Success
Mayor Tom Barrett and President Barack Obama need look no farther Monday than Milwaukee's Menomonee Valley, or the former Tower automotive plant-turned-train assembler, for a good Labor Day stories.
Years of hard work to reclaim the once-polluted and oft-ignored Valley have led to high-profile plant openings or commitments: Palermo's Pizza, for one - - and the two exciting and clean/alternative energy innovators - - Helios USA, (solar panels) and Ingeteam (wind turbines).
Talgo, the Spanish train maker, is also opening in Milwaukee at the Tower plant on the west side, assembling train sets for the high-speed rail initiative that is a centerpiece of Obama's infrastructure focus.
Local, state and federal investments have helped bring about these new plants, their production jobs and the spin-off white collar employment - - all in an older part of the city with sizable numbers of low-income and minority residents living close to these workforce opportunities.
Call it a green revolution with a blue collar: The new Milwaukee honoring the tried and true.
Barrett and Obama can also say that Republicans in Wisconsin are hostile to some of the public programming that helped bring these high-paying jobs, and their tax-base support, and the overall added value to Milwaukee - - the economic driver for Southeast Wisconsin and the entire state.
It's a strong and positive political and economic message.
It can be delivered with pride and conviction.
The environmental cleanup, alternative energy, economic growth and jobs connections evident in the Valley, and not far away at Tower, are a model for the rest of the country, and they illustrate a real path out of the recession to a cleaner, greener and recovered economy.
There's your new paradigm.
There's the change we hoped for.
7 comments:
This is a beautifully written essay, Mr. Rowen, that ties together many important issues that Mayor Barrett and President Obama should be proud to claim as their own initiatives. Bravo to you for making a clear statement claiming that the Democrats have done wonderful things for this city and this state and this country and this world.
Awesome accomplishment.
You trade existing Supersteel train jobs for Talgo train job for the cut rate subsidy cost to the taxpayers of $1 million per employee.
That is progressive economics for you.
It is a false statement to say these jobs were traded for existing Supersteel jobs.
But apparently I was dead on with the taxpayer subsidy since that was the more salient point.
Spending $1 million for a at best $100k job - that is Progressive/Obamanomics for you.
You are leaving out spin-off growth, jobs, tax-base benefits, family stabilityetc.
The rail corridor's stations will add value to communities, too.
Your approach is simplistic, and ideologically-driven.
"Your approach is simplistic, and ideologically-driven."
Wow Rowen - do you ever read what you have posted?
Let's see your blog.
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