About Competitive Wisconsin, Inc.

Competitive Wisconsin, Inc. was formed in 1981 after a meeting a small group of business and labor leaders held in the basement of the Executive Residence with then-Governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus.  Those leaders and the Governor, were concerned that without a concerted effort by all sectors of the economy; labor, business, education and agriculture, the economic future of the state of Wisconsin would be in jeopardy. 

At that time Wisconsin was facing its worst economic slump since the Great Depression with unemployment eventually topping out at 11.7% in late 1982.  Businesses were moving out of the state in record numbers prompting a billboard to go up on the Wisconsin Illinois border that read, “will the last business out please turn off the lights.”

The impact of the new organization was immediate, in the first 8 years CWI worked to accomplish the following;

• Lowered the personal income taxes from 11.4% to 6.93%
• Eliminated the Wisconsin Gift Tax

25 years later this nonpolitical consortium of agriculture, business, education and labor leaders is still working together to improve the economic climate of Wisconsin in order to encourage the expansion of existing businesses and enhance the possibility of developing and attracting new business.

Competitive Wisconsin Leadership