Thursday, August 31, 2017

Walker Wreaking Havoc in Wisconsin Part 2: Failed Manufacturing Jobs Comeback, Income Inequality Highest Level Since Great Depression!

Scott Walker is still playing up his vision of a "manufacturing Renaissance" in Wisconsin, and he's now betting $3 billion of taxpayer money so he could add 3,000 Foxconn jobs, with a promissory note for 10,000 more, maybe? Is Walker trying to hide something?

Maybe! It's interesting...no, it's shocking to note:


Funny thing, PolitiFact bent over forwards trying to get Walker off the hook, saying he became governor well after the Great Recession, and that governors have little impact on creating jobs. That's not what Walker himself says daily, going as far as to blame the recessions job losses on Gov. Jim Doyle's liberal policies.

Back to the Great Depression: Walker likes to brag about the low unemployment numbers, Executive magazines anecdotally high opinion of Wisconsin's business climate, and those promised 3,000 Foxconn jobs, but that means squat for the future:
The state hasn't seen such striking levels of inequity since the Great Depression. Wisconsin is seeing a growing income gap between its top-earners and the average worker, according to a report released earlier this month from the Wisconsin Budget Project and the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) in Madison.

The top 1 percent in the state has seen their income rise by 131 percent after adjusting for inflation. At the same time, income for the remaining 99 percent grew just 9 percent. The richest 1 percent in Wisconsin made -- on average -- 19 times as much as everyone else in 2014 ... Most people in Wisconsin made less than $50,000 a year on average while the top 1 percent brought in around $933,000 each year.
So what can Walker do? In the past he discounted a hike in the minimum wage by saying he wanted people to just get better paying jobs. I know, idiotic right?
The report makes several recommendations ... The state can avoid a growing disparity by removing barriers to work, improving access to health care, continuing support for workforce training and increasing the minimum wage.

"Most other states have set a minimum wage that is higher than the federal minimum wage, including many states that are controlled by Republicans," she said. The National Conference of State Legislatures lists 29 states with a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour, including Minnesota and Michigan.

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