Wisconsin’s small business community stands in opposition to several pieces of Gov. Tony Evers’ budget, according to the head of NFIB Wisconsin, a WisBusiness report states.
Among the items National Federation of Independent Business State Director Bill Smith says Wisconsin small business owners don’t support are paid family leave and a targeted retirement savings program.
“When the government mandates a retirement program, or mandates paid family and medical leave, that’s not trusting the private sector to do the right thing,” Smith said. “And as a result, we lose a competitive edge that we might have had, in terms of attracting potential workers to our businesses.”
Evers’ budget proposal included the family leave program as part of a larger workforce initiative. Under the plan, $243 million in state funds would be allocated to kick off the program that would impact most private sector employees, and future funding would come from payroll contributions split evenly between employers and workers.
Evers also proposed using $2 million to establish a retirement savings program for employees of small businesses who aren’t offered one through their employer.
Smith said the NFIB previously surveyed its members on similar proposals in 2019 and found they were strongly opposed to both ideas.
However, NFIB’s Wisconsin chapter does support other pieces of Evers’ budget proposal, including more funding for worker training initiatives.
