Walker concedes failure of 250,000 jobs pledge

[Updated from 12/26/17] You may remember Walker's repetitive and broken pledge to create 250,000 new private sector jobs in one, four year term.

The Journal Sentinel reported earlier this year that only 185,000 jobs net were added to the state workforce in his first six years as Governor - - so about 30,000 a year and at a rate less than half what was needed to keep his signature pledge made throughout his 2010 and 2012 campaigns.

So now with another re-election campaign underway that will be a referendum on his performance, Walker is throwing out on Twitter new spin and misdirection that changes the numbers, reframes what's promised and defines failure as success; Walker now cites creating or retaining - - new category - - nearly - - new qualifier - - 30,000 jobs in 2017.

Does Walker think we won't see through this trick he Tweeted Tuesday:

Governor WalkerVerified account @GovWalker 6m6 minutes ago6 minutes agoMoreWisconsin is open for business! This year’s economic development projects are expected to create or retain nearly 30,000 jobs and result in more than $11.6 billion in capital investment across the state. #WIWorking 

And he repeated it today:2 hours ago

Governor Walker‏Verified account @GovWalker 2h2 hours ago2 hours agoMore2017 has been a historic year for Wisconsin, with economic development projects expected to create or retain nearly 30,000 jobs and result in more than $11.6 billion in capital investment across the state. 

Does Walker think we don't remember him saying that 250,000 new jobs was a floor, not a ceiling?

Promise of 250,000 jobs hasn't changed, Scott Walker says

This fundamental dishonesty will continue in Wisconsin until mainstream media aggressively confront Walker with the facts, and his record, and hold him accountable, or his Tweet will disappear into the ether without effective, widespread contact and correction.

And if retaining jobs is now a win, what say you, Waukesha, Sheboygan, Oscar Mayer, Caterpillar, Wausau Paper, Manitowoc Crane, etc., etc.?

Here's the truth:

Walker would have needed the Wisconsin economy to add (not retain) jobs at a rate of 62,500 annually to have met his 250,000-new-jobs-in four-years-promise.

In fact, there is fresh reporting that shows Wisconsin's job growth is more a crawl than a broad-jump:

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, also provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are considered a more accurate measure of job growth... 

The latest quarterly estimates, from June 2016 to June 2017, recently found that Wisconsin’s private-sector growth ranks 28th in the nation, with a manufacturing growth rate of 0.8 percent. The quarterly census also found a drop in manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin in 2016. 

So back to Walker's shaky 'created and-retained 30,000 jobs,' which is apparently the new 62,500 when conjuring alternative numbers and searching for votes.

And don't get me started on how many of those new jobs were due to the national economy and President Obama's stimulus investments.

And how many jobs Walker sacrificed by turning down at least $810 million in Obama-era Amtrak rail bed upgrades, train repair and assembly funding, hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid expansion funds and more millions for rural broadband upgrades.

Walker is a jobs-killer.