Wednesday, December 27, 2017

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:
 6 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.  
 2 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, WaukeshaSheboygan, Oscar Mayer, Caterpillar, Wausau PaperManitowoc 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.

 


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

How stupid does he think we are? Why does he think he can get away with this? The democrats running against him up here in the North are compiling a list of all his lies, etc and are ready for him. A copy of your blog is very helpful.

Anonymous said...

Anytime Walker is "lauding" his job creating achievements it goes without saying that it never includes the mass layoffs or lost private/public sector jobs. Math has never been his strongest subject. He once touted a company in Waukesha that added 120 jobs but that same day another Wisco company had a mass layoff of over 300. This has happened time and again, month after month, year after year since he has been Gov.
The issue we've have is the Wisconsin media is an extension of Walker. They have never held him accountable. Partially due to Walker never being accessable- outside his comfort zone. And when he is seen on a Wisco media show, for example, "Up Front with Mike Goushe", Walker is never asked follow up questions, never accountable for anything he's done. He has been a complete disaster for Wisconsin and It's sad he will never have to answer for this.

Anonymous said...

And how much taxpayer money bought those jobs because of WEDC!

Anonymous said...

Yes, Walker has failed with the 250,000 promise in every way.

The stats WEDC keeps deal with jobs "created" and those "retained," using our taxpayer $ to pay for it, usually at a big cost per job. We're paying businesses just to "retain" jobs--doesn't the idea of blackmailing the State, using the threat of jobs going elsewhere, ever enter anyone's minds. Is this really somehow legal?

Should I jump for joy now that I'm working three part-time, low-paying jobs with no benefits, when I used to have job security with one full-time, family-supporting job with benefits? This is obviously not an improved scerario for Wisconsinites.

Underemployment is a huge problem that is not measured by a simple promise of a "job." Walker is a fraud in every way, yet the media continues with this simpleton view about number of jobs. What do jobs pay, benefits involved should be the real focus, unless we are aiming for 3rd-world status.

Anonymous said...

Yes, true. And how much money was squandered due to poor accounting, and thus lost in the books.

Jake formerly of the LP said...

Go look at which businesses Walker decides to appear at and mention for these staged photo ops. Kwik Trip, Farm and Fleet, Menard's, HUSCO, ABC Supply. It's almost always a mega-donor to him and/or the Wisconsin GOP.

It's an obvious WEDC kickback scheme that needs to be called out at every turn. Meanwhile, legitimate job-creators like Epic are ignored, and Oscar Mayer abd numerous other businesses are allowed to fold up,

James Rowen said...

And remember this. https://thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com/2013/11/wedc-pulls-video-lauding-burke-run-trek.html