Walker, our coattail governor, takes credit for Jobs, Low Unemployment, and Participation Rates!!!

Scott Walker is a career politician who knows how to wrap good news around all the bad news.

Last in the country for Business Startups: Our tax cutting freeloader and governor won't bother to invest in the future:

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, one of the country’s leading entrepreneurship advocacy and research organizations, wrote, not only was Wisconsin last; the gap between Wisconsin and the next-lowest states widened significantly from 2016 and 2015. The Kauffman Foundation said that without startups, there would be no net job growth in the U.S.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s office, meanwhile, said the latest Kauffman report is not a comprehensive analysis. It fails to include such data as wages, employment, industry and the long-term success of startups in each state.

Really, Walker wants to get into "wages?" More on that below. On employment, how'd that 250,000 jobs promise work out Scottie? Bottom line, Walker's statement discounts the importance of business startups...I can just hear the Democratic campaign ads now.

NonCompete Clause Problem: This was a new wrinkle thrown into the mix:

Joe Kirgues, co-founder of gener8tor, a company with offices in Milwaukee and Madison that runs a respected training program for startups, believes the prevalence of noncompete clauses in employee contracts squelches entrepreneurship here.

California and other states, he said, have moved to prohibit such clauses, which can prevent people from starting a new company immediately after leaving their employer. States without strong noncompete laws “tend to see the free movement of labor much like we encourage the free movement of capital,” Kirgues said.

“By contrast, in states like Wisconsin the non-compete laws essentially lock up those individuals who gain the most insight into how an industry might perform better by prohibiting (them) from using those skills to build a new company in that industry.”

People Moving Out of Wisconsin, Outbound migration numbers ignored:

A declining population, particularly when residents are moving out of state, often can be traced to a lack of job opportunities or a low quality of life. Between 2010 and 2015, 14,210 more people moved out of the state than moved in, equivalent to a net population loss of 0.2% over that time. Wisconsin is one of just 14 states with a net negative migration over the last five years. Home values in the state remained effectively stagnant over that time, even as the U.S. median home value increased by 12%. This is likely a product of outbound migration from the state.

Democratic Governor Jim Doyle's Great Recession: Walker's reelection bid is a smoke and mirrors extravaganza. Walker continues to blame the Great Recession on Gov. Doyle and the Democrats, blaming them for the massive job losses and high unemployment rate in the state, which by the way, was still lower than the national average. Walker repeats this so often the media has given up correcting him:

Even Walker's tweeted graph shows the dramatically lower unemployment rate in Wisconsin when he took office vs the national rate:

Here's an interactive graphic showing the exact numbers...:

Participation Rate BS: One of Walker's biggest bragging points is the states lower labor participation rate vs the national rate. But wait, our participation rate has always been lower, a trending mirror image of the slightly higher national rate...so...Walker is simply and unabashedly misleading voters, and taking credit for not really doing anything:

Walker's Rising Poverty: And who could forget this not so shocking rise in the poverty rate under Walker:

WSJ: Despite a new report showing Wisconsin has the fastest-shrinking middle class in the U.S., the Gov. Scott Walker administration says the state is headed in the right direction.

March 24, 2015: Wisconsin ranks worst among the 50 states in terms of a shrinking middle class, with real median household incomes here falling 14.7 percent since 2000, according to a new report. The Pew Charitable Trust report showed Wisconsin with the largest decline in the percentage of families considered "middle class."

The median household income in Wisconsin was $60,344 in 2000 but now stands at just $51,467 after adjusting for inflation. That’s a dip of 14.7 percent. Nationally, median household incomes fell from $55,987 to $51,939 over the period, a decline of 7.2 percent.

Walker says No Hike in Minimum Wage: Walker has the luxury those stuck in the cycle of poverty don't, and that is to dream of better days:

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, and issued a statement saying: "Governor Walker wants jobs in Wisconsin that pay two or three times the minimum wage.

Scott Walker: "The left claims that they're for American workers and they've just got really lame ideas — things like the minimum wage. Instead of focusing on that, we need to talk about how we get people ... the careers that pay far more than the minimum wage."

What Walker doesn't want you know? Even business CEO's think the minimum wage should be raised, and that's from right wing word smith Frank Luntz:

The survey of 1,000 business executives across the country was conducted by LuntzGlobal, the firm run by Republican pollster Frank Luntz, and obtained by a liberal watchdog group called the Center for Media and Democracy. (The slide deck is here, and the full questionnaire is here.) Among the most interesting findings: 80 percent of respondents said they supported raising their state's minimum wage, while only eight percent opposed it. "That’s where it’s undeniable that they support the increase,” Luntz told state chamber executives in a webinar describing the results.

Note: I just did a quick search for most of the above information. So why isn't the Wisconsin Democratic Party putting even more of this stuff together and arming possible candidates with the truth about Walker's record...I have no idea.