The Situation:
A global pandemic has put top talent and not the corporations in the driver seat. Talent can work for any company remotely and can make Google or Facebook money but live in a cheaper city with high quality of life.
Millennials, the largest generation in history, are having kids but housing prices near the coasts are unaffordable leaving them to ask: where am I going to raise my family?
Global warming and overpopulation have led to the fires on the West Coast, leaving many residents searching for a new home.
Thirteen million people live in the Power Triangle of Milwaukee-Madison-Chicago, and we need to make a pitch to top talent around the globe to join us.
Leveraging the resources of each of the three cities collectively, the world needs to know we have everything they need for their future within a 150-mile radius. Our three cities need to work together to define our collective future. This means businesses collaborating on remote workers, governments working together to find world-class solutions to transportation and policy issues, schools and universities sharing their top teachers to provide the best virtual learning environments, and tourism working together on joint advertising campaigns.
It’s time we stop operating within the confines of our own imaginary state and county lines and start believing like we belong on the world stage.
This column is part of “25 big ideas for Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin’s future,” a feature included in the BizTimes Milwaukee 25th anniversary issue. To read other contributions, visit biztimes.com/bigideas
