Walker's Wisconsin: Four more years of lost jobs in manufacturing, lower wages, and bad roads/construction delays, etc.....

I don't think Scott Walker has gotten the message yet...think he will now? Na!

Manufacturing employment last year posted declines in 28 states, including a sharp drop in Wisconsin ...Wisconsin’s manufacturers lost 3,784 jobs in the period from December 2015 to December 2016, a drop of 0.8%, which was far steeper than the national average in the sector. 

The decline in factory employment is all the more baffling after the Republican-controlled legislature, with Walker’s support, enacted a deep tax cut ... took full effect in 2016. The Manufacturing and Agricultural Credit slashed the effective rate of state corporate taxes for all Wisconsin-based manufacturers to nearly nothing — from 7.9% to 0.4%.

The Walker manufacturing renaissance ain't happening, despite the outpouring of praise from bullshitting CEO's who predictably stroked Walker's ego for his "bold" tax cuts.

Average weekly private-sector wages in the state declined 0.6% last year, led by a 5.3% plunge in manufacturing wages.

Remember when Walker trashed the minimum wage because as governor he wanted people to get jobs that paid higher wages instead? What if wages don't get much higher? No plan.

The Journal Sentinel put together this truly telling piece:



The latest QCEW numbers should put a stake in the heart of Walker's reelection hopes.

Private-sector job growth rate of 0.5 percent was less than half the national average of 1.2 percent, putting the state 33rd in the national rankings for the second-straight year.

Put another way, according to the Journal Sentinel:

The 2016 data were the worst for Wisconsin since the current expansion began, following the severe 2008-'09 recession. The 2016 data also were the worst of the six years since Gov. Scott Walker took office in 2011.

The US created private-sector jobs at a rate of 1.3% in the latest 12-month period, more than double Wisconsin's 0.5% increase.

Among Midwest peer states, as measured in overall job growth, Wisconsin ranked 33rd behind Michigan (No. 15), Minnesota (No. 18), Indiana (No. 24), Pennsylvania (No. 28) and Ohio (No. 31), and ahead of Illinois (34) and Iowa (41).

Like a broken record, Walker's got nothing but the low unemployment rate to brag about, a gift from the Obama administration. But we're still "growing"...ever so slowly:

Wisconsin’s unemployment rate consistently has trended below the national rate for more than 30 years. "The bottom line is Wisconsin's economy is growing and adding jobs,” Workforce Development Secretary Ray Allen said in a statement.

Dane County, Madison Liberals to the Rescue: Democratic politicians in Dane County must be doing something right...

Dane County, which includes Madison and its technology spin-off industries, reported the state’s lowest jobless rate in April at 2.1%. Unemployment was worst across northern Wisconsin.

Walker's Wisconsin now ranks Dead Last, 50th, when it comes to startup businesses!!!

WISC had this short but important story:

Walker's Wisconsin loses 300 jobs as cookie plant closes in Ripon.

Odd thing, all the corporate tax cuts and favors don’t amount to a hill of beans when it comes to a companies own bottom line and changing market.

Scott Walker’s choice to focus all his effort on the states older and fading manufacturing economy isn't working.  His hostility toward the new economic engines; energy, technology and bio-science has made the loss of an established business that much harder:

WBAY: A ConAgra cookie plant in Ripon is closing, leaving more than 300 people without a job.Union leader Alex Gillis says the union was notified of the closing of the west plant at 8 a.m. Monday. The plant is expected to close by the end of the year, according to Gillis.

ConAgra released this statement to WBAY TV in Green Bay: "Following an extensive evaluation of our plant network, we have determined that we need to close the soft bake and enrobed cookies facility in Ripon, WI..

This is Walker's economy, what he calls a template for the rest of the nation.

Business likes Walker's Wisconsin, without creating jobs or increasing demand.

Higher business rankings have nothing to do with everyday citizens. It reflects the size and breadth of corporate welfare and deregulation. It’s not exactly “free market” stuff here, since the Walker administration is merely purging the old system and replacing it with regulatory protections...for big business.  

Wisconsin ranks as the 32nd best state for business according to Forbes Magazine … Last year it ranked 41st.

Of course, the ranking has nothing to do with an actual increase in jobs or businesses. It has everything to do with corporate tax cuts, lower wages, irresponsible deregulation, and whatever it is that they call “economic climate.”  

The ranking is based on performance in six categories — business costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life … the state ranking 18th in the future growth category. Wisconsin has improved its ranking in the regulatory and economic climate categories.

There’s one category we’re losing ground on fast, quality of life. You’d think with concealed carry and cuts to education we’d be headed in the other direction, but…

Its business costs and labor force rankings remain about the same as in past years. It's quality of life ranking has fallen from the top 10 in several previous years to 17th.

Wisconsin and Kansas Governors use same playbook, heading "forward" into statewide economic disaster.

After watching this story from MSNBC's Chris Hayes, I couldn't help but see how bizarrely similar the Republican agenda is between governors. But there's one big problem; if the plan fails, so does every other state. Kansas is failing with a dramatically similar plan to Wisconsin's, and we can thank Scott Walker for not having the imagination to govern with independence.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is even bragging about "business creation," just like Scott Walker. They're not new businesses at all, "but existing businesses that have changed their tax status." Same old tricks and deceptions that turn conservative low information voters into suckers.  

Walker's Jobs Plan Sputtering Out Already!!

Small businesses old and new are the backbone of our economy. But under Scott Walker's big corporate welfare state, it's hard to muster any consumer purchasing power to support our local entrepreneurs.

Demand is down or stagnant, thanks to Walker's promise that there will be no hike in the minimum wage, and public worker wages have taken a hit. Still, if a business doesn't rely on our Wisconsin marketplace, you're welcome to set up shop:

WSJ: Wisconsin small businesses are more upbeat about the strength of their own companies but remain hesitant about hiring or taking on costly new projects, according to a U.S. Bank survey … only 21 percent said they expect to add staff in the next 12 months, compared with 23 percent in each of the previous two years.

Scott Walker's Business friends agree, we're headed in the "Right Direction." Surprised?

With the millions of dollars of right wing cash washing over the banks of the Wisconsin border, Scott Walker countered that image with this cute graph. Brown bag lunches anyone? Don't forget your colored pencils.

Big surprise business is upbeat electing their corporate Santa Claus. Like I've said before, they pranked the governor with promises of certainty and job creation. He still doesn't get it.

Walker's Wisconsin back of the pack for Business Creation.

Remember this comment from the pollsters at St. Norbert College:

“57 percent of our respondents think the state is going in the right direction.”

Imagine how many voters will never know how wrong they were. 

They do like their charismatic leaders.

But the jobs picture is even worse now, with the news new business start-ups lag the nation. Wisconsin even had one of the largest decreases in business formation in 2013:

WSJ: Wisconsin has one of the lowest levels of new business starts in the nation, a study shows.

The report by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City ranks Wisconsin, tied with Washington state, fifth from the bottom in entrepreneurship in 2013, with 170 new businesses created for every 100,000 adults. 

Wisconsin also had one of the largest decreases in new business formation last year compared to 2012, with a drop of 0.08 percentage points, for an entrepreneurship index of 0.17 percent in 2013, the study said.

Don't be mislead by Scott Walker's claims of small business creation, which takes into account LLC's. Many individual business owners and small groups start LLC's for liability protection, not because they're new or growing businesses.

Walker abandons 28 year old Wisconsin Business for Louisiana Advertising Company, Costing Business ads Twice as Much.

Scott Walker is attracting businesses alright, but the out-of-state kind that sends revenues and jobs out of Wisconsin.  Goodbye 28 year old homegrown businesses, you’re out of work.

I’m still astonishment that Walker would dump a Wisconsin company for a monopoly out of Louisiana. No loyalty? You've got to wonder what backroom deal had been struck to make this happen. Remember United Sportsmen of Wisconsin?

jsonline: Some businesses are finding themselves in a lurch as a fight brews over who the state will put in charge of the blue highway signs that direct drivers to gas stations and restaurants.

New signs aren't going up because the Department of Transportation is trying to switch over to a new vendor … Derse-Wisconsin Highway Business Signs of Milwaukee has run the program for about 28 years, but is poised to lose it to Interstate Logos, a subsidiary of billboard giant Lamar Advertising Co. that is in charge of the blue signs in 22 other states.

That’s right, 28 years of service gone. These are the business friendly, job creating Republicans? And the price doubles for business:

In analyzing proposals from the two companies, the DOT awarded Interstate Logos 848 points and Derse 826 points … Derse filed an appeal … contending the sign work should not go to a firm headquartered in Louisiana that proposes to charge gas stations, restaurants and hotels twice as much in some cases for the signs.

The DOA made the change despite the proposed doubling of sign charges:

Derse proposed charging businesses $21 a month for signs along the interstate and $10 a month for signs along exit ramps. Interstate Logos proposed charging $46 per month for signs on the interstate, with no additional charge for signs on ramps … interstate signs would pay more than twice as much under Interstate Logos' proposal and businesses that need both interstate signs and ramp signs would pay 48% more. That could translate into as much as $8.6 million in additional costs for businesses over the 12-year life of the contract. The DOT has emphasized that no final decisions have been made on sign prices.

Illegal fast track to appoval:

Derse argued that giving the work to Interstate Logos was improper because the company was not registered to do business in Wisconsin at the time it submitted its proposal to the DOT; offered an impermissible pricing scheme; and ran a monopoly that could later jack up prices.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (in) a letter to Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch, (said), "It appears the decision, as it stands now, would kill Wisconsin jobs, increase costs for Wisconsin businesses, and send local dollars to an out-of-state firm," he wrote.

Walker again blames the Recall for his bad jobs numbers, which he also claims aren't bad at all. Yes, he wants to be governor again.

Anyone running a business can tell you; we weren't waiting breathlessly for governor Scott Walker to win his recall election. As absurd as that sounds, that's what Walker wants us to believe. Yet the media as usual treats that BS like it's possible. Come on guys, impartial coverage is one thing, but playing dumb is just outrageous.

When Walker shifts to a different metric counting all the new jobs, it directly contradicts the lack of any measurable job creation via the much touted 11,500 new businesses added since he became governor. You can’t play dumb on this. Those new supposed "businesses" were mostly individuals filing as LLC's.
 

Knowing he’s got credibility problems, Walker’s dragging out the old chestnut that employers were worried sick he would lose his recall election...you're supposed to believe this stuff:

jsonline-Chicago: One day after a federal report showed that Wisconsin is creating jobs at a pace that's about half the national rate, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said the uncertainty of last year's special gubernatorial recall election stunted hiring in the state.

It gets more ridiculous. The following statement redefines the word absurd:

"These numbers are March to March, and in March of last year, we were still three months out from the recall election," Walker said at a press conference in Chicago, where he appeared at an economic forum. "And as I point out repeatedly, employers in the state were basically frozen until they knew what would happen in that election and the uncertainty it caused."

Anyone else suffering from visions of grandeur? Wanna ask Walker why businesses froze up anticipating the return of the king? Walker thinks they did:

Walker added … "Much as there is concern nationally about the impact of Obamacare and the impact it has on employers, they just wonder with uncertainty."

Employers must be turning away customers at the door over ObamaCare too, hoping to avoid paying health care for any new employees that help sell their products. Folks, businesses don’t run like the fantasy land version dancing around in Walker’s head:

Once the state gets past the effects of that uncertainty, the pace of hiring will increase, Walker predicts. "When the end of the year numbers come out, you are going to see a significant increase," the governor said.

Uh oh, another campaign promise?

Walker our "Brown Bag Republican" or "Brown Shirt Republican?"

Doing a little back research on my own blog, I came up with these "Believe it or Not" forgotten facts:

Wisconsin State Journal had this interesting and obscure article: 

If elected, Scott Walker says he would: Bring 250,000 jobs and 10,000 new businesses to Wisconsin by 2015 by cutting taxes, easing regulations.

10,000 new businesses? Not quite:

On a net basis, the state has 7,557 more businesses than on Dec. 31, 2010, just before Walker took office. The turnaround came in large part from an addition of 6,699 domestic limited liability corporations, by far the largest category … Most of the new registrations typically are Limited Liability Companies (LLC's) set up for tax or liability purposes and employ no one.

Coincidentally, Walker released this business creation blather Wednesday, knowing  LLC's don't actually employ people but sure sounds good on the campaign trail:

At the Governor’s Small Business Summit in Stevens Point, Governor Scott Walker today announced 11,590 new businesses have been created in the state since he took office, according to statistics from the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI).

The most embarrassing part of his jobs promise, which even I forgot about, was this amazing fact:

AP-Scott Walker, a GOP candidate for governor (claimed) … he can create 250,000 jobs in Wisconsin by 2015. If Walker were to achieve his goal of creating 250,000 jobs, he would erase virtually all unemployment in the state (which now at 250,900).

Making my argument for me, and another fact hidden during Walker's first run for governor:

Walker's primary opponent, former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann … quoted statistics that suggest Milwaukee has one of the nation's worst records of retaining jobs. "If Scott Walker had a plan to bring jobs to Wisconsin he should have implemented it in Milwaukee sometime during the last eight years," Neumann said.

And finally, Walker's recall primary challenger that never happened. Guy makes a good point:

Chippewa Herald: A new candidate is looking to challenge Gov. Scott Walker as a Republican — a move that would force a GOP primary. Patrick O’Brien, 49, of New Glarus, said Wednesday that he plans to challenge Walker in a Republican primary. “I thought he was running as a brown bag Republican,” O’Brien said. “What we were getting was a brown shirt Republican.” O’Brien said he would work to promote and help grow the dairy industry in Wisconsin. “I want farmers to be able to join the state health insurance program at the cost to the state,” he said.

So again, how is Walker doing?