Yes, please, stay focused on jobs

The state budget is in much better shape.

The recall fireworks are over, at least for now.

And today the Wisconsin Legislature returns to the state Capitol to focus on — jobs.

At least that’s what Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and his brother, Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, are promising.

Good. They should stick to that pledge.

“I’m not going to go out of my way to kick the cat and generate a lot of animosity,” Scott Fitzgerald told the Associated Press.

“We’re not going to lead with a bunch of social issues or anything,” said Jeff Fitzgerald.

If the Legislature doesn’t finish with hot button social issues, such as abortion, that would be appreciated, too.

That’s not what most of Wisconsin is concerned about.

Jobs, jobs, jobs is where people’s minds are at, opinion polls suggest. Too many people don’t have them. Too many businesses aren’t hiring enough new people to substantially bring down unemployment rates.

That’s why most every politician — from President Barack Obama on down — is pitching job-related legislation.

Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature can’t magically fix Wisconsin’s economy on their own. So much of what happens here is affected by national and global conditions. And, ultimately, government isn’t key. The private sector is.

But staying on task at the state Capitol with sensible, bipartisan approaches to boosting jobs and business here can help Wisconsin get and stay ahead.

One good example: Incentives for private investors to steer more venture capital into early-stage Wisconsin companies poised to hire more people at good pay.

One bad example of the kind of legislation Wisconsin doesn’t need, especially now: A “fetal tissue” bill that aggressively targets legitimate and promising medical research while scaring away high-tech companies.

Wisconsin needs more private-sector jobs — plain and simple. Yes, the Legislature should concentrate on ways to encourage more hiring this floor session.

No sideshows, please, to detract or distract from that goal.

(c)2011 The Wisconsin State Journal

Distributed by MCT Information Services

Tags: opinion, editorial, politics