We’ve all heard the statistics. Too many of us have become one.

The state’s index of leading economic indicators is almost precisely half of what it was 10 years ago. It is at its lowest level in more than 20 years.

But, let’s not get lost in the numbers. The numbers can make you forget, lose focus. It’s about jobs. Giving businesses a chance to flourish so they can give people a chance to work.

The Jobs First Coalition is deeply worried about all of the businesses and jobs leaving our state.  We have seen this before.  Nearly 25 years ago, the Governor of Illinois put up a billboard on the border between our states that said “Would the last business to leave Wisconsin please turn out the lights?”

The billboard sparked a debate across Wisconsin that forced candidates and public officials of both parties to make job creation and retention the state’s highest priority. The changes they made in our state’s policies kicked off an economic boom in Wisconsin that gave us some of the strongest job growth in the nation.

The Jobs First Coalition has put this billboard up in the hopes of reigniting this debate about putting Jobs First.  We invite you to join us at www.jobsfirstcoalition.com.