Great job, Milwaukee! Forbes thinks Wisconsin is bad for business, Milwaukee is dirty
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Nothing makes The A.V. Club’s sentient Great job, Milwaukee! robot happier than when our fair city or state shows up on a dopey online list. Best city for trick-or-treating? Beep-beep-boop. Best river town in America? BEEP-BOOP-WHIR. Most “incredible and underrated city”? MAX AND JINX. FRIENDS FOREVER. But every once in a while, a frightening “DOES NOT COMPUTE” sign lights up when we appear on a less-than glowing list. Take Forbes, who recently dealt us a deadly one-two punch by naming Wisconsin one of the worst states for business, and Milwaukee one of the dirtiest cities in America. Oof.
First up is Wisconsin’s standing as the 42nd worst state in the country for business, down from 40th in 2011. According to The Business Journal, the poor showing took into account “business costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects, and quality of life.” Forbes continues:
“Wisconsin’s economy is driven by manufacturing, agriculture and health care. The state is also the nation’s leading producer of cheese. The Badger State adopted the slogan ‘Open for Business’ in 2011, erecting signs along the state border. The results have been middling at best as job growth is projected to be second worst in the U.S. through 2016.”
Then there’s Milwaukee’s dubious distinction as the 10th dirtiest city in America. No, Forbes didn’t take a tour of our decidedly clean and tidy downtown, and it didn’t walk the streets of our charming neighborhoods. Instead, it looked at things like air and water quality indexes:
“Decades of heavy industrial development along the Milwaukee River has contributed to significant amounts of PCBs and heavy metals polluting groundwater and draining towards Lake Michigan. The 1.5 million residents of the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro endure air that’s ranked 20th for short-term particle pollution. Sperling Air Quality Index: 26. Sperling Water Quality Index: 26.”
Hey, science! If you hate Milwaukee so much, why don’t you just leave?
