Burke says she boosted European sales for Trek Bicycle, her family's business, from $3 million a year in 1990 to $50 million in 1993. Only the former Trek executive says there aren't any reports, memos, newsletters or other records to support her claim because the Waterloo-based firm is a private company.But Bice found records that show that Trek's overall sales increase in that period was only $107 million. It's hard to believe that nearly half of that increase came from Europe. Bice also found an old newspaper article quoting a company official saying that sales in Europe, Canada, and Japan together rose $30 million in the period 1991 to 1994.
A Burke spokesman says: "These pathetic attempts to discredit Mary Burke's track record of success creating good-paying jobs in Wisconsin are a joke." How can you rest on the "track record" and the contention that there are no records... especially when a journalists finds some records? What's "pathetic"? The only thing that's pathetic is that no one had even gone this deeply into the claim of a record of executive experience made by a person who is asking us to hire her as our state's executive.
Bice quotes a UW-Milwaukee political science professor: "She can't put out such a specific claim and then say it's a secret."
Quite aside from whether the number is correct, what did Burke herself do that caused the sales to increase? The bikes are a great product. It's not surprising that sales increased. What did Burke do that had a causal effect? We've seen many commercials with her asserting that she knows how to grow businesses, but if having a great product is how, that's not anything she's done, but only a way in which she's been fortunate in life. Now, if you grew sales with a mediocre product, your role would be more impressive.
Bice goes on to note that when Burke became the state's secretary of commerce in the Doyle administration, her résumé said she boosted Trek's European sales from $2 million to $60 million, but now she's saying from $3 million to $50 million. And: "She left in the summer of 1993 to begin a two-year break from the firm." Has anyone given us any depth about why she left and what she did? The election is only a few weeks away. You'd think it would come up.
ADDED: We'll see if it comes up in the debates, the first of which is tomorrow at 7, moderated by Jill Geisler, with panelists Keith Edwards (WQOW), Judy Clark (WEAU), Mike Thompson (WKBT), and Shawn Johnson (Wisconsin Public Radio). That's a lot of panelists, so there's a good chance for somebody to distinguish himself or herself with some specific questions. I can imagine the mind-numbing I-know-how-to-grow-business generalities that will waste our time if the candidates are allowed to run out the clock. I'll be live-blogging, keeping my eye on these journalist characters, so stay tuned.
पोस्ट्स
९९ टिप्पण्या:
Bice. Rats. Sinking ships.
"The bikes are a great product, made in Wisconsin."
Very few of Trek's bikes are actually made in Wisconsin any more. I am not sure what that situation was when Burke was "working" there. Only the very high end and custom units are built in Waterloo now. The rest come from Taiwan and China and are basically the same bike that other brands sell, with a different name on it.
Private companies don't keep records?
Of course there are records. They're just not public, but Burke has the ability to get them and she would if they supported her claim.
Well, were I to ask a question or two of her in a debate I might begin with:
1. What percentage of your European profits were as a result of currency differentials?
2 Was your European expansion via deals with individual dealerships or with a distributor or both?
3. What percentage of sales were attributable to mountain bikes and which to road bikes?
4. Which European country would you consider your greatest success?
Then watch.
There is not any period of Mary Burke's life that she can account for in any way. Not her two stints at Trek, her snowboard sabbatical. Nothing. She hasn't had a job in six years. She hasn't had a relationship in 55. She is just weird.
Everything about her is fake or stolen or manufactured.
Michael, you're just mean.
Curious George, the word is "dilettante."
""The bikes are a great product, made in Wisconsin." Very few of Trek's bikes are actually made in Wisconsin any more. I am not sure what that situation was when Burke was "working" there. Only the very high end and custom units are built in Waterloo now. The rest come from Taiwan and China and are basically the same bike that other brands sell, with a different name on it."
Meade raised a similar point on proofread, and I took out the phrase "made in Wisconsin."
Thanks for the heads-up. I knew about the overseas manufacturing that happens these days, but I thought that back in the early 90s, it was right to call it a Wisconsin product. Meade didn't think so, and I didn't know, so I cut the phrase.
It's pretty normal to ask for audited financial reports of a private company - especially when those reports are now 20+ years old. There's no longer any business reason to keep such reports secret, and a company that reaches $50 million in annual revenue better darn well be auditing it's financials.
While eating out last night, we came across and talked to a friend whose opinion I value. He has met Burke in several different ways and says she's a very nice person, the kind that would go out of her way to help someone.
My reaction: What's a nice person doing in politics? And can a nice person survive being a Governor in a Capitol filled, like all Capitols, with self-serving sharks in power suits?
How does one go from $3m to $50m in sales? Need more background. Basically, they had no presence in that market. How did they gain it? Was it her idea? Did she implement it? How were profits during that period and can one credit it to the European expansion? How many jobs were added in Wisconsin or elsewhere due to this expansion?
Growing sales by entering new markets is easy. Successfully and profitably growing sales by entering new markets is an entirely different matter.
"Michael said...
...
Then watch."
Something like this
It sounds to me like the MJS journalist is a "Treker", questioning the validity of her credentials like that.
What do liberals think a business person does to be successful? Mostly they cut costs, including labor costs.
Weren't liberals keenly interested in how Romney made his money?
Dan Bice finds documents that seem to jive with Mary Burke's claim. But TWO people have concerns! Great story bro.
Ann, I mean this kindly but as a businessperson you offended me with your blatantly inexperienced offhand comments about "It's a great product, I'm not surprised sales increased. What did she do?."
Companies don't go from $3 million to $50 million in 3 years because of a good physical product. And that's not a "rise" in sales - that's a skyrcoketing. To put that in perspective, let's assume it went like this:
1990: $3 million
1991: $12 million
1992: $25 million
1993: $50 million
That would mean sales rose 400% one year then 200% each for the second and third year from baseline. That's "meteoric" and semi-sustained too.
You don't get that type of sustained growth over a period of 3 years with a bad CEO unless:
- The CEO is completely hands off
- All the senior leadership under the CEO are excellent people who are not interfered by the CEO
Now Trek's story and claimed sales increase there is the type of thing the Harvard Business Review and books like "good to great" try to make case studies out of....because it's so rare and hard to achieve. So then why do we have no details about it?
I agree with your suspicion and, frankly, it's disgusting that the campaign has not tried to showcase this AND almost no one seems interested in digging. That's a phenomenal success story - how was it achieved?
"Dan Bice finds documents that seem to jive with Mary Burke's claim. But TWO people have concerns! Great story bro."
It's highly implausible that half of the sales increase took place in Europe.
I guess by "seem," you mean, "seem to you," you, being someone who wants to think the best of your candidate.
Some of us actually want some facts here.
"Dan Bice finds documents that seem to jive with Mary Burke's claim. But TWO people have concerns! Great story bro."
It's highly implausible that half of the sales increase took place in Europe.
I guess by "seem," you mean, "seem to you," you, being someone who wants to think the best of your candidate.
Some of us actually want some facts here.
TreeJoe: be sure to ask garage mahal your question. He knows everything there is to know about Mary Burke and knows better than most how to explain everything about her.
"Companies don't go from $3 million to $50 million in 3 years because of a good physical product. And that's not a "rise" in sales - that's a skyrocketing."
It was a great product that also greatly expanded its manufacturing capacity.
If it was something in the marketing, then let's hear about it. These are the questions I asked: "Quite aside from whether the number is correct, what did Burke herself do that caused the sales to increase? The bikes are a great product. It's not surprising that sales increased. What did Burke do that had a causal effect?"
In other words, what is the expertise that we are asking to think of as transferable to the role of state governor?
I think that's a very good question!
We are not selling a product here, we are managing a government and attempting to facilitate private businesses. So… what happened and what is transferable to things done from the position of governor.
Considering this has been such a close race all year, how in hell does it take until a few weeks before the election for this sort of thing to get investigated? Her business expertise is the entire basis of her campaign!
And before anyone says "liberal media bias" let me ask whether there's a single Walker campaign surrogate or anyone else in the state who could have dug into this to at least verify some of her claims. Shouldn't this have been poked through months ago? That's campaign malpractice!
And, again, the question is what portion of those increased sales were in Europe?
The "skyrocketing" is great, and it's a great product, and a great job was done upping the production and sales, but what part did Burke do?
It's highly implausible that half of the sales increase took place in Europe.
Why is that implausible. Are you a biking industry analyst?
The best proof would be for some of her business partners--people she sold products to--to come forward and testify to her business acumen.
By comparison, Eisenhower's regular circle of golf and bridge buddies included the following—a stockbroker, a distillery owner, an oil company president, chair of Coca-Cola, and a corporate atty (a Democrat).
I'd ask what business executives she hangs out with--on a regular basis.
My guess the answer is—Zero.
Some interesting factoids:
- Trek was a division of Roth Distributing until 1997
- In 1983, Trek sold $20 million in Bikes according to Richard Burke
- A quote from Richard Burke, the founder, in INC magazine in 2006 says "From 1986 to 1996 we took sales from about $30 million to more than $300 million."
- Richard Burke said all 5 children were guaranteed a position in the company, but he was still in charge. One son
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20060701/qa-burke.html
"And before anyone says "liberal media bias" let me ask whether there's a single Walker campaign surrogate or anyone else in the state who could have dug into this to at least verify some of her claims. Shouldn't this have been poked through months ago? That's campaign malpractice!"
I think Walker's people tried to do some of this but it felt too much like attacking a Wisconsin company and they backed off.
lgv makes great points. I would add that I'm sure the European market for bikes is far, far larger than $50mm, and that going to $50mm in sales, from next to nothing, might very well be no big deal at all and is the sort of thing anyone (such as a not-particularly-able owner's daughter) may have been able to pull off easily.
"...Mary Burke's track record of success creating good-paying jobs in Wisconsin..."
What are those numbers?
Suppose the average price for a bike during that period was $500. $3 million would be 6000 bikes. $50 million would be 100,000 bikes.
They ramped up production that fast yet "there aren't any reports, memos, newsletters or other records to support her claim because the Waterloo-based firm is a private company." Oh. OK.
looks to me like she grew the business by not being in the business.
Over to you Garage and/or Madisonfella
"What do liberals think a business person does to be successful?"
That's a very good question, considering every time a businessman actually does something that improves the business they get criticizes as heartless.
I'd guess they think a successful businessman intentionally keeps his profits just high enough to survive, pays employees wages aimed at giving them enough to live on, rather than what they're worth to the business or the market demands, and charge just enough for goods and services to keep the business afloat, but not a dollar more.
That, and not taking advantage of any tax loopholes, and somehow having only beneficial effects on the environment.
So we're talking about a hypothetical businessman, not something you might find in the world.
Double Secret Sales Growth.
Ann, I put this in my previous post but I think we have the answer here: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20060701/qa-burke.html
This is a business profile from INC of Richard Burke's explanation for Trek's great business growth from the 1980s through mid 2000s.
He never once mentions Mary, explains the companies financials far differently and basically destroys Mary Burke's claims that in 1990 they were at $3 million and went to $50 million by 1993.
He also explains how each family member got a job at Trek but continues positioning himself as the leader of the company all that time.
I think the answer to the root question is, "She held a strong position in the company but was not a critical part of it's growth and she obtained that position through family - rather than merit."
That's not to say she couldn't have been successful or wasn't good at her job. She may have been.
"I think Walker's people tried to do some of this but it felt too much like attacking a Wisconsin company and they backed off."
I could understand that from the official representatives of Walker's campaign, but this is what unofficial surrogates are for--they can lead the attacks without getting mud on the campaign they're trying to support. Something like Club for Growth could have done this.
The snow board queen is offering herself to the Madison Dems now to be their girl toy absentee Governor. So what her only known qualification is that she is not Scott Walker.
I want to know how her selling bikes in Europe has anything to do with her ability to stop rapes on Wisconsin college campuses. For instance: did she put any funding whatsoever into Anti-Rape Bicycle technology?
Don't live in WI, so I don't know her exact claim. But how she phrased it probably tells you most of what you need to know. If she phrased it actively like say "as a result of X where X is something specific, revenue grew from $3MM to $50MM," then there may be something to her claim. If she phrased it like "while I was head of European operations, revenue grew, etc." then I'd assume she simply warmed the chair. The politician's dodge would be "Under my leadership, revenue grew, etc." That might cut either way, so I assume that's what she actually claimed. Am I wrong?
Michael's questions would go a long way to smoking out how much she actually knew about the business. Unfortunately, someone would have to explain them to the journalusts.(much less the audience) before they'd know why to ask them.
I guess it really is too easy to mention the non-existent record back in 2008. Now a verifiable record is a must? Hell, it's just governor of Wisconsin, not King of the World. Lady's got Harvard cred, that's not enough? I'm sure that Milwaukee rag did this kind of digging on Swaggy.
A few Greek columns and a toothier, shit-eating grin might help the bike lady. Promise to turn back the tides if need be.
What did W say? "Fool me once, shame on... shame on you. A foolman can't get fooled again."
Did Burke focus on the European market so she could avoid having to sell bicycles to American Blacks?
I boosted the European profits of my family business an infinite amount last year in the Riemann Sphere.
Considering this has been such a close race all year, how in hell does it take until a few weeks before the election for this sort of thing to get investigated?
People in the State have better things to do in the Summer than listen to/talk about Politics.
She's Democrat. That's why it hasn't been investigated.
From the article:
But a key Burke aide dismissed the criticism, saying the new numbers don't contradict anything the Madison millionaire has said about her time at Trek. Sales spiked under her watch, in short, because she was opening new Trek offices around Europe.
"These pathetic attempts to discredit Mary Burke's track record of success creating good-paying jobs in Wisconsin are a joke," said Burke spokesman Joe Zepecki.
How does opening offices in Europe for a product made in China create jobs in Wisconsin?
I'm anxious to hear more about Walker's Pee in a Cup jobs plan in the debates. It sounds like it has real potential.
That plagiarism video -- more "um's", "uh's" and awkward pauses than an off-teleprompter Choom.
Watching Garage back and fill and blow smoke is the Right Way to Start the Day.
Look, she may be hiding the documents showing what she did, but at least she isn't doing the full Obama, and hiding the fact that she was even on the board.
Re: "I want to know how her selling bikes in Europe has anything to do with her ability to stop rapes on Wisconsin college campuses. For instance: did she put any funding whatsoever into Anti-Rape Bicycle technology?"
I did not mean to imply that students on Wisconsin campuses were raping bicycles -- if that is indeed a crime it has been severely under-reported. I am simply asking what she could have done to advance bicycle technology to enable bikes to prevent rapes. Pedaling away from a rapist is a good first step, but she -- in her position -- should've been capable of accomplishing far more.
For the annals of corporation-bashing, the link that Tree Joe posted has an interesting factoid:
About four years ago Trek moved to S status.
Trek pays no corporate income tax. Horrors!
Does the hard-hitting expose mention if the bike lady voted "present" while serving on the school board. (Oh My, school board! She served on the school board!) That would suggest to me that she is thoughtful, nuanced, cautious, deliberative. Good qualities to have in a non-decider. Recess or no recess? Hmmmm?
No Drama Burke. Doesn't really have that ring.
Garage, I don't doubt the numbers given, either the $3-$50mm increase, nor do I doubt that it couldn't be part of the $107MM increase.
What has not been demonstrated is the connection of Mary Burke's performance to this increase. I'm sure there is someone else that worked there at the time that would also take credit for the increase.
I sell thousands of dollars of product into the UK right now. If I spent large sums of money over a years time to get CE approval, my sales to Europe would increase exponentially over the first few years.
So, who created the new European plan? Who shepherded the long process (prior to 1991) to get approval to sell into the EU? Who negotiated the distribution deal that created this increase? Was it a profitable deal?
Maybe Burke deserves all the credit she claims, but we don't know.
She didn't say, "I negotiated a never before distribution deal (or set up a dealer network) for Trek in Europe while supervising the EU approval process. This led to ......."
Surely the European Bicycle Market would be interested in bicycles with Proven Anti-Rape Technology. They probably have rapes on European campuses, too, I would imagine.
How many Trek bicycles were used in the commission of campus rapes? One is too many.
So, on the one hand, a candidate with extensive experience in private industry and, on the other, a career politician with no real world experience.
Seems like an easy choice for you guys.
"What's "pathetic"? The only thing that's pathetic is
Argument by assertions is the fav fallacy of the Left.
Illegal rush to war, etc...
What if Trek bicycles made it easier to commit a rape than, say, a Schwinn? You can't exactly run an ad campaign of "Trek Bicycles: The Successful Rapist's Choice." All the more reason they should be actively researching Bicycle Anti-Rape Technology, rather than dilly-dallying over in Europe.
Betamax3000,
With enough anti-rape bicycles, girls in Rotherham wouldn't have to use Pakistani driven taxis as often.
You're on to something here!
ARM, Now you're just phoning it in. Try harder.
Rape-Repellent Seat Covers: they could start with the easy stuff, first.
What if the bell on the handlebars had two settings: "Rinnnnnng" and "Help! Rape!"? If I can come up with this surely Trek could, also: they obviously just don't want to.
Who did Mary Burked go snowboarding with:
"A Boyfriend" changed to "friends" changed to "I can't remember". "Two years" changed to "Four years" changed to "I don't remember"
Everything about Mary Burke background is made-up or just non-existent.
Kind of like her plans to govern.
Apparently her top administrative experience comes from being president of the Maple Bluff Country Club.
Is this really the best that Wisconsin Democrats could do? I almost feel embarrassed for them.
France: bicycle production
1.5m in 1990
1.2 in 1991
1.0 in 1992
1.0 in 1993
Germany
3.9 in 1990
4.9 1991
4.6 1992
4.1 1993
Italy
3.5 1990
3.6 1991
4.1 1992
5.2 1993
Italy had a 14.1% growth rate over the period that Trek was storming the market. Assuming the Burke figure of $50M at a cost of $600 per unit trek would have had to sell 83,333 bicycles in Europe in 1993. Possible, but I would certainly think it would be easy enough for the curious to make a few calls in Europe to distributors and retailers to get a sense of whether in a fundamentally flat market Trek was selling that many bicycles.
It is possible too that the reason Mary left the company after such a growth in European sales is that the cost of producing that $50,000,000 in sales was $65,000,000.
CWJ said...
ARM, Now you're just phoning it in. Try harder.
Hard to get excited about this one, two nobodies going nowhere.
I feel obliged to provide some emotional support for Garage. It's a lonely task he's got here, with all that cruel neutrality going on.
I think we've all had experience in closely held, family businesses, and can pretty much fill in the rest. Burke's argument for her candidacy is falling apart faster than a $3 suitcase. Once again, I say Scott Walker is going to beat her like a rented car.
Mary Burke is being cheered for her business experience and Meg Whitman was attacked for hers. The liberal media is determined to pick winners and losers; it's as simple as that.
What was Scott Walker doing from 1990-1994? He dropped out of college and went to work for the Red Cross. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Burke supporters.
Garage:
Because dropping out and going to work for the Red Cross is like dropping out and going snowboarding for four years.
Thanks again, dude!!
I wasn't here when Walker was first running for Gov. Did Althouse do a post asking if Scott Walker really brought his own brown bag lunch to work every day? That was the cornerstone of his entire election and yet there are allegations that he plagiarized that advertising campaign from somewhere else.
Speaking of, does Walker claim he still brings his own brown bag lunch when flying on the private jets provided by his billionaire donors or has that persona of his "evolved" into something else now? He's been strangely quiet about that this go-around.
PS to Curious RecDrago: Hope you're not expecting any rent for the way I've been living in your head 24/7
>>beat her like a rented car.
I have never beaten a rental car. Just for the record.
Because dropping out and going to work for the Red Cross is like dropping out and going snowboarding for four years.
What would you rather do?
Lots of squirrels running about on this thread. Its almost like Burke supporters don't want the details of Burkes business "success" discussed.
Now that does seem odd, doesn't it?
Garage:
I find dignity in work and extra pleasure in the time I am able to take time off to ski or hike or shoot.
If I won the lottery I would not take off four years to do any of the above.
If I won the lottery I would not take off four years to do any of the above.
Burke went snowboarding for four years? I don't think anyone has ever made that claim.
"Anti-Rape Bicycle technology"
It might add too much weight to the frame, but they should have developed a bike that deploys chaff by now. The deploy button could be cleverly disguised as a bell. Maybe the bell itself could also be a rape siren.
Betamax, you are inspired.
"So, on the one hand, a candidate with extensive experience in private industry and, on the other, a career politician with no real world experience."
Or, you could say "a candidate with unknown experience in private industry and, on the other, a career politician with well known results."
FIFY
Garage:
Maybe it wasn't four years, but it was not two weeks. It was more than 52 weeks. Two years?
As the great lady said, what difference does it make?
She was not doing anything so ignoble as working for the Red Cross.
I think the rape siren is a good idea. In fact, I think all male students should have to carry one and hand to their prospective sex partner just in case there is a change of mind before, during or after.
Hopefully they can be rechargeable since they might have to be set off months or years later.
Maybe it wasn't four years, but it was not two weeks. It was more than 52 weeks. Two years?
More like two months, not four years. But hey, close enough.
garage mahal said...
"Dan Bice finds documents that seem to jive with Mary Burke's claim."
garage,
As a professional proofreader *cough*, I started to redline that word, jive but then I thought — whoa down there, proofreadin' cowboy, even a blind nut sometimes catches a glimpse of squirreliness:
"Mary Burke's claim... jive..."
Good catch, my perceptive partisan progressive pal. Good catch.
garage mahal said...
What was Scott Walker doing from 1990-1994? He dropped out of college and went to work for the Red Cross.
Sounds like an awfully liberal thing to do. College dropout works to help people. Wow. And you think this is a bad thing?
Blogger garage mahal said...
I'm anxious to hear more about Walker's Pee in a Cup jobs plan in the debates. It sounds like it has real potential.
10/9/14, 9:15 AM
Forget it GM, even if you do pass the drug test, no one is going to hire you.
I'm surprised that nobody has yet repeated Obozo's mantra, "You didn't build that" in discussing Mary Burke's (non)record of business performance.
But moving the needle in business is tough to do; incremental growth and making your numbers is hard enough. But you can get some apparently spectacular results by buying another company and adding to your company or division's geographical reach.
But the press, and the public's understanding of what it takes to grow a business is limited, if not nonexistent.
AReasonableMan unreasonably wrote:
So, on the one hand, a candidate with extensive experience in private industry and, on the other, a career politician with no real world experience.
So Burke's career is like the the Koch bros. careers, and Walker's career is like Obama's career.
Seems like an easy choice for you guys.
"So, on the one hand, a candidate with extensive experience in private industry and, on the other, a career politician with no real world experience."
Without anything else, it would be easy. But, I have employees with extensive private industry experience that I wouldn't want as governor, regardless of party. On the other hand, you have someone whose performance as governor you can evaluate yourself.
Wisconsin LOST jobs during Mary Burke's tenure as Com Sec. And this was in a stable economy.
"ARM, Now you're just phoning it in. Try harder."
He's just doing his best Obama imitation.
Wisconsin LOST jobs during Mary Burke's tenure as Com Sec. And this was in a stable economy.
Overreach.
Your definition of a stable economy is one in which jobs are being lost? If something is changing, how is it stable?
Why is that implausible. Are you a biking industry analyst?
See, Trek has documentation to explain ALL of that.
It isn't being made public.
There is a reason.
What was Scott Walker doing from 1990-1994? He dropped out of college and went to work for the Red Cross. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Burke supporters.
garage, Walker has a record to run on.
Burke has, literally, nothing.
How is it possible that more people were working under Burke's tenure than there are now?
Is this really the best that Wisconsin Democrats could do? I almost feel embarrassed for them.
They bought three packages of Kool-Aid: Female candidates get the wimmin voters all swooney; Burke had a history of Business Success so she'd appeal to the Money Grubbing Capitalists; Burke would dig deep into her own pockets to overwhelm the Walker Secret Routers Club.
Well, Burke is still a woman.
Garage:
"How is it possible that more people were working under Burke's tenure than there are now?"
Ask Barak Obama since this is a phenomenon across the country.
garage mahal said...
How is it possible that more people were working under Burke's tenure than there are now?
LOL
Garage remains blissfully unaware of the national workforce participation numbers and why the numbers are what they are.
But hey, "unemployment"***** is waaaaay dooowwwwwnnn!!
How is it possible that more people were working under Burke's tenure than there are now?
More people were working under Bush than under Obama.
Bush had the best economy EVAR!!!!!
MadisonMan said...
Wisconsin LOST jobs during Mary Burke's tenure as Com Sec. And this was in a stable economy.
Overreach.
Your definition of a stable economy is one in which jobs are being lost? If something is changing, how is it stable?
Seriously? Do you think that nothing can be stable unless everything is stable?
You cannot understand the economy being stable and having local job loss?
It frightens me that you teach. Unless it's gym. Is it?
Overreach.
Your definition of a stable economy is one in which jobs are being lost? If something is changing, how is it stable?
It wasn't in freefall and having a dead cat bounce as Walker has dead with.
That's far more stable, IMO.
I wonder what libs think that it is that they teach you at Harvard business school? Or what they teach you at Georgetown to earn a degree in finance?
It isn't to hire more people than necessary and pay them above market wages.
In other words, what is the expertise that we are asking to think of as transferable to the role of state governor?
I think that's a very good question!"
A simple question with a simple answer when it comes to electing a progressive Democrat: NO.
Giving Ms. Burke the benefit of the doubt and assuming she was responsible for the tremendous growth in those three years it isn't transferable to governing the state since raising taxes never leads to growth. And from what I've read here that is what she intends to do if elected. Now raising taxes doesn't always kill growth of the economy has a strong upward momentum but this economy doesn't and raising WI taxes doesn't make more business friendly and induce more investment all else being equal.
Going from $3 million to $50 million in three years sounds like they signed a major distribution deal with a company that already had a big retail presence.
If you've already got that much manufacturing capacity, expanding into Europe is a good idea. You've got a good product, Europe is a big market -- it just makes sense.
If a genuine record of success in business was the deciding factor in the election of a chief executive, we'd be saluting President Romney.
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