One example given of a company that should be showcased is Waukesha-based GE Medical Systems, a world leader in medical imaging technology. Develop a brand image for Wisconsin that will draw highly trained workers to move here. And upgrade high-speed telecommunications in rural Wisconsin. For its role, Smith said, the UW System will try to increase graduation rates and will develop a plan to attract more federal money to Wisconsin. In one of the summit's final sessions, lawmakers said new-economy issues would play a role in the upcoming legislative session.
Supporters see such a tax break as a way to encourage better air service.
There also appeared to be common sentiment to lower property taxes and to work on the more nebulous problem of making Wisconsin more attractive to an increasingly mobile work force. But lawmakers downplayed the role of the public sector when so much of the growth in the new economy has come from and been led by business. Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Dec. 2, 2000. Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved.