[Updated] As has become routine during GOP WI Governor and presidential dreamer Scott Walker's desultory nearly six years in office, fresh, gold-standard data was released yesterday which showed Wisconsin ranking 33rd in job growth among the 50 states.
Yep, that's us: a long-time bottom-third tier state, and, for worse measure, 50th in new business start-ups for a second straight year.
Little surprise, given the Walker administration's absence of any coherent economic planning, and I don't mean trickle-down tax breaks, nifty PR billboards at the borders and far-flung trade missions at taxpayer expense which were principally to boost Walker's foreign policy experience for his momentary run for President last year and the next one in 2020 for which he's already gearing up.
And don't expect anything approaching a genuine turnaround, given the exodus of big-name, major employers from the state in recent months - Oscar Mayer, Caterpillar, Manitowoc Crane - - and the supply chains and white-collar service and consulting positions that disappeared in ugly ripples along with the iconic firms' payrolls and deep community involvement.
Three questions for Walker and the media which cover him:
* Would it be too much for media to press Walker for an explanation about his failure to create the 250,000 new private sector jobs which was the centerpiece promise of both his 2010 gubernatorial race and the 2012 recall election?
* Likewise - - what about that Robin Vos promise that once the recall election was over, the Wisconsin economy would take off like a rocket. "A tremendous takeoff," Walker predicted.
In fact, Walker sold that story in Illinois, too:
Ask and ye shall receive: Thursday 11:30 p.m. update, and props to Channel 3 WISC-TV's latest editorial:
Yep, that's us: a long-time bottom-third tier state, and, for worse measure, 50th in new business start-ups for a second straight year.
Little surprise, given the Walker administration's absence of any coherent economic planning, and I don't mean trickle-down tax breaks, nifty PR billboards at the borders and far-flung trade missions at taxpayer expense which were principally to boost Walker's foreign policy experience for his momentary run for President last year and the next one in 2020 for which he's already gearing up.
And don't expect anything approaching a genuine turnaround, given the exodus of big-name, major employers from the state in recent months - Oscar Mayer, Caterpillar, Manitowoc Crane - - and the supply chains and white-collar service and consulting positions that disappeared in ugly ripples along with the iconic firms' payrolls and deep community involvement.
Three questions for Walker and the media which cover him:
* Would it be too much for media to press Walker for an explanation about his failure to create the 250,000 new private sector jobs which was the centerpiece promise of both his 2010 gubernatorial race and the 2012 recall election?
* Likewise - - what about that Robin Vos promise that once the recall election was over, the Wisconsin economy would take off like a rocket. "A tremendous takeoff," Walker predicted.
In fact, Walker sold that story in Illinois, too:
Gov. Walker says business hiring will skyrocket after he wins recall election* Will media ever hold career politician Walker and his shills accountable for their broken promises, misleading boasts and inept performance which any Google search can document, or has the GOP so devalued politics in Wisconsin, where traditional media is also on the decline, that political incompetence is ignored and enabled as business as usual?
Ask and ye shall receive: Thursday 11:30 p.m. update, and props to Channel 3 WISC-TV's latest editorial:
Walker needs to respond to state lagging in job creation
James- We KNOW GOP politicians don't care about economic performance or results, nor do they care about political competence. They'd change course if they did.
ReplyDeleteBut those aren't the results they care about. They care about fundraising numbers, and getting enough rubes to buy their BS so they can stay in power and keep the cycle of "tax break - campaign contribution" going.
This only changes when they are removed from office. KNOW THIS
To answer your questions:
ReplyDeleteWhy yes, yes it would.
Likewise, yes it would.
No, they won't and yes the GOP has.
Sorry, I just get so crabby having to look at Scooter's mug at the end of your posts.
Thanks for posting specifically about the media -- since you are a seasoned professional journalist, my guess is this may not be easy (please accept my apologies if I am being too presumptuous).
ReplyDeleteI am sure you have directly seen and experienced, from the inside, YUUUUGE changes in the role media plays in state politics -- my guess is much has not been pretty. This is a strong post and comes from a highly qualified source -- I appreciate how you laid this out.
Anon 5:52 maybe be grateful and this anon agrees the added perspective is important. There once was a weekly radio show on Friday nights by Dave Berkman (sp?) that was exclusively about the media and regularly talked about the lie of objective journalism.
ReplyDeleteWithout informing the public about the media's complicity in the astro-turf teabaggin' movement from which Scott Walker's gubernatorial bid was built, anything else is just noise. Yeah - I'll agree it was helpful to have this post out there with 2 caveats:
1. If others do not carry this perspective across Wisconsin, specifically the role of the media in our politics, the rest of the dialog does not matter & Republicans will be in power for life.
2. While this post ties down many other thoughtful topics, distilling the common thread behind the Republican take-down of Wisconsin's economy and fiscal integrity, it also makes clear that complaining about the symptom (GOP's extremist ALEC agenda) means nothing without factually pointing out the disease -- a propaganda network that performs in unison as the mighty Wurlitzer across our state.
I am tired of the political circus !!
ReplyDelete