The linear equilibrium theory of the response of a homogenous fluid in a flat bottom basin on the β-plane to oscillatory wind forcing has in the past been used to examine the possible relevance of wind forcing to the existence of mesoscale motions in the ocean. It is here shown that the predicted response to forcing at frequencies appropriate to these motions is unsatisfactorily sensitive to the poorly known value assumed to characterize the model dissipative process. Modest changes in this value lead to order one changes in the character of the forced response. It does not appear appropriate at this time to assess the importance of the direct wind forcing process in the generation of mesoscale motions using this model.