Thursday, February 14, 2013

If Mine Is Walker Jobs Plan, His Amtrak Veto Was Jobs Killer

If AP wants to frame the argument for the iron mine as Walker's jobs plan - - Wisconsin tribe threatens Walker jobs project - - then let the AP and the rest of us always refer to his veto of the Amtrak extension to Madison from Milwaukee as his job killing project, as these numbers show:

Then-Journal Sentinel transportation reporter Larry Sandler in 2010 totaled up and published the figures, which I had re-posted:
"Therefore, total employment specifically linked to the train line would be 1,100 this year, 3,483 next year, 4,732 in 2012, 1,542 in 2013, 483 in 2014 and 167 in 2015.
The remaining jobs that the state claims would be created - 181 this year, 577 next year, 803 in 2012, 305 in 2013, 138 in 2014 and 83 in 2015 - would be "induced" employment, or jobs at stores, restaurants and other businesses where the railroad workers would spend their wages."
And let's not forget how often Walker blames others for his failed job-creation pledge, while omitting the impact of policies and decisions entirely his.

4 comments:

E Robinson said...

Let's not forget that the AP also ran a story about what a boost high speed rail is to industry in the Midwest.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/report-midwest-firms-coupled-high-speed-rail-18450977

Yes, that could have been the corridor between Milwaukee and Madison, as well as soon all the way to the Twin Cities. But NOoooo.......

Ron R said...

Simple solution to this problem. Pass a law that states the Madison to Milwaukee mediocre speed rail line must be constructed using steel produced from iron mined in Wisconsin.

Anonymous said...

If the mine goes through, it will be a tourism and wild-rice producing job killer, thanks to Walker.

rick whaley said...

Thanks for the update. Differences on high-speed rail and its role in regional transportation policy are OK and to be expected. But Gov.-elect Walker iced an existing business contract with a start-up business (Talgo) and iced those existing set-up jobs.

Now we see more clearly how many jobs the governor has cost Wisconsin in his failed economic development program: over 11,000 jobs directly linked to the train, from now until 2015, and over 2000 spin-off ("induced") jobs in that same time period.

He also cost Wisconsin taxpayers $99 million dollars—state taxpayers share of the Hiawatha’s capital cost that the federal grant would have covered (MJS front page, 7-20-11).
And what was the $ figure Wisconsin taxpayers had to pay the feds back for costs already incurred on the doomed project?

It’s like throwing back a major league home-run ball, just because the other team hit it.