You can read Wisconsin Workforce Development Secretary Ray Allen's entire WisOpinion puff piece - - and, yes, I know that GOP Gov. Scott Walker's spinmeisters flyspeck these so-called op-eds to make sure they lavish enough praise on the boss - - but like the data cherry-picking Walker has used for years to camouflage broken job creation promises, bottom-tier, stalled employment growth and Wisconsin's last place ranking among the states for new business startups two years straight, I offer for your edification just the first paragraph and one cherry-picked, but also half-baked number:
Sorry, but I don't see "a reason to celebrate the economic success Wisconsin has enjoyed in recent years under [Walker's] leadership"?
Governor Scott Walker recently proclaimed September as Workforce Development Month and, along with the recent Labor Day Holiday, this gives us all a reason to celebrate the economic success Wisconsin has enjoyed in recent years under his leadership, with much of the success attributable to the talents and dedication of Wisconsin's best-in-class workforce.And note among the selective statistics that follow, this - -
The state has added over 200,000 private sector jobs from December 2010 through July 2016.- - with no reference to Walker's failure to have met his signature 250,000 new private sector job creation pledge by January, 2015 - - or 18 months earlier.
Sorry, but I don't see "a reason to celebrate the economic success Wisconsin has enjoyed in recent years under [Walker's] leadership"?
I don't get it. Scott Walker is not camouflaging anything!
ReplyDeleteThe information is out there are readily available. Most people do not have time to find it themselves and rely on professional journalists to help keep them informed. This is why the U.S. Constitution specifically provides for freedom of the press.
Reasonably factual reporting is the foundation of an informed electorate. Scott Walker is playing a con right before our eyes. If there are contradictions and inconsistencies in how data is used in press releases and subsequent media reports, it is not really because of Scott Walker.
It is because of corporate media that does not exist to inform the public via an ad-supported business model. To their owners, these assets are worth more as pro-Walker mouthpieces that repeat his spin and talking points.
He speak with forked tongue.
ReplyDelete"200,000 private sector jobs"
ReplyDeleteMust be including seasonal and part time employment.
Let's use fair and honest statistics. Show net full time employment = jobs gained - jobs lost by sector of the economy.
This sort of misleading information by any candidate D or R means my vote is to fire you.
Where's the Ethics?
ReplyDeleteI agree - most Americans do. If Wisconsin citizens saw the job claims from this, a reasonable and accurate perspective, GOP would not continue to control our state into the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, this reasonable take is never in the media.
Oh if only there was some reporter that bravely stood in front of us and told the truth as I there job was to was to advocate for truth as some type of watchdog.
Disappointing to see only the "spinmeisters" on Walker payroll called out. The don't actually write and produce the crap that most people see or hear. To shout this message across the state, you have to be part of the media.
ReplyDeleteI don't get this type of analysis. Is it really a good strategy to make this about Walker and his public relations staff? Is giving the folks that catapult the propaganda a free pass really going to change anything?
There is a reason the broadcast industry calls its schedule "programming" and it has nothing to do with setting up time slots for each daily show. They know its really about brainwashing listeners and viewers.
ReplyDeleteI like your blog Jake but James has kept up the pressure on the GOP about transportation, the environment, campaign finance, voter ID, etc. and he has been very effective. In response to his blogs, statements have been made by these wackos running the state to deny that they are doing exactly what he says they are doing. Thanks James!
ReplyDeleteJames does a great job. He's a full pro vs a hobbyist like me. I read this place every day and then some.
DeleteWhen that piece touts Walkernomics for "200,000 private sector jobs," it is including jobs created since December 2010. Ahem. The governor then was Jim Doyle, and he was governor for a chunk of the following month. And, Walker's "reforms" to "boost" job growth weren't enacted and didn't kick in for another six months. So that's an inflated number, in terms of what happened under Walker's tenure, even if it isn't already conflated by seasonal and part-time employment. Further, Walker switched to quarterly BLS figures at the outset, saying they were more accurate. But he maintained that stance only when the quarterlies (often adjusted upwards then) produced less happy results than recently (often downward-adjusted numbers).
ReplyDelete