Evers’ Main Street Approach to Pandemic Relief Is a Welcome Change After Foxconn and Trump

Home run hitters make a lot more outs than the small-ball specialists who string a bunch of singles and doubles into a higher score.

Tony Evers is no Donald Trump—and what a relief that is to Wisconsin taxpayers.

The former president always had to “go big” in his bluster and his promises. His business legacy in Wisconsin was the Foxconn boondoggle. He promised us the moon and left taxpayers on the hook for what could’ve been about $4 billion and far fewer jobs than what we were originally told.

Fortunately, we now have a governor who understands that you grow a state economy on Main Streets in all 72 counties. This week, Evers announced another infusion of American Rescue Plan funds will go toward an ongoing series of grants to small businesses that move or expand into previously vacant commercial spaces. Each grant is $10,000, and Evers is raising the total of all the grants to $100 million.

Do the math: That’s 10,000 businesses, each getting $10,000. And that $100 million is a small fraction of what Trump and other Republicans were set to spend on one business—foreign-owned and with a track record of not keeping its job promises. 

There are plenty of wannabe home run hitters out there. They swing for the fences and make a lot of outs. Teams that play “smallball” string together lots of singles and doubles to score more runs. Each small business helped by Evers is another hit, and it’s why Wisconsin is seen as an example of how to most effectively use pandemic stimulus relief. The Brewers might want to seek some coaching advice from him next.