Come on!
Scott Walker, just admit it ... you're a bought-and-sold hack, a corporate shill, a know-nothing. Your incompetence has been showcased by anemic job creation.
But, of course, that's not your fault.
Walker attributes slow job growth to uncertainty created by recall election
It was your anti- collective bargaining rampage, refusing millions for rail upgrades, and the rest of your crony-inspired agenda that has kept Wisconsin's economy in neutral.
You're the governor; act like it! Take some responsibility for your ineffective policies. Stop trying to place the blame anywhere other than where it belongs - with you!
Saturday, September 28, 2013
The Lost Years
Scott Walker is all about jobs. At least that's what he keeps saying.
Part of his electoral success was due to his message of stopping rail expansion in Wisconsin. Trains are so antiquated; we shouldn't be spending taxpayer dollars on these pie-in-the-sky rail initiatives.
[We'll put aside, for the moment, the fact that the Federal government was going to pick up much of the cost, and we'll ignore all the jobs that would have been created.]
Using public transportation options to more easily and efficiently connect citizens and business over a larger area (in this case: from Gary, IN to Minneapolis, MN) just didn't make sense to Scott Walker.
Now, with terrible job growth and and burgeoning pressure to provide good economic news, Gov. Scott Walker endorses Milwaukee-Chicago metroplex initiative.
Hmmm, how odd. Mr. Economy wins two elections claiming job growth omnipotence and belittling transportation linkages. Now reality has shown (again) Republicans' claims of knowing 'how to grow the economy' are bullshit!
So, what does Mr. Economy do now? He flip-flops and takes the position of his opposition (connect the region, and use public transportation to help facilitate such), which he has railed (no pun intended) against for the past few years.
Of course Walker hasn't called for improved rail linkages. But just admitting there is something to be gained, economically, from better regional linkages is a big step in the right direction.
Wisconsinites have had the misfortune of waiting years for Mr. Walker to have this economic revelation. Time wasted, money lost, and jobs squandered.
Wow! Imagine that, working with others is more economically-beneficial than trying to simply poach jobs with platitudes ('Open For Business').
For Further Reading:
Great Lakes Megalopolis
Great Lakes Megaregion
Megaregions
Part of his electoral success was due to his message of stopping rail expansion in Wisconsin. Trains are so antiquated; we shouldn't be spending taxpayer dollars on these pie-in-the-sky rail initiatives.
[We'll put aside, for the moment, the fact that the Federal government was going to pick up much of the cost, and we'll ignore all the jobs that would have been created.]
Using public transportation options to more easily and efficiently connect citizens and business over a larger area (in this case: from Gary, IN to Minneapolis, MN) just didn't make sense to Scott Walker.
Now, with terrible job growth and and burgeoning pressure to provide good economic news, Gov. Scott Walker endorses Milwaukee-Chicago metroplex initiative.
Hmmm, how odd. Mr. Economy wins two elections claiming job growth omnipotence and belittling transportation linkages. Now reality has shown (again) Republicans' claims of knowing 'how to grow the economy' are bullshit!
So, what does Mr. Economy do now? He flip-flops and takes the position of his opposition (connect the region, and use public transportation to help facilitate such), which he has railed (no pun intended) against for the past few years.
Of course Walker hasn't called for improved rail linkages. But just admitting there is something to be gained, economically, from better regional linkages is a big step in the right direction.
Wisconsinites have had the misfortune of waiting years for Mr. Walker to have this economic revelation. Time wasted, money lost, and jobs squandered.
Wow! Imagine that, working with others is more economically-beneficial than trying to simply poach jobs with platitudes ('Open For Business').
For Further Reading:
Great Lakes Megalopolis
Great Lakes Megaregion
Megaregions
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
The Job Creation Shell Game
The Job Creation Shell Game
State and local governments waste billions of dollars each year on economic development subsidies given to companies for moving existing jobs from one state to another rather than focusing on the creation of truly new positions, according to a study released today by Good Jobs First, a non-profit, nonpartisan research center based in Washington, DC.
“What was long ago dubbed a Second War Between the States is, unfortunately, raging again in many parts of the country,” said Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First and principal author of the report. “The result is a vast waste of taxpayer funds, paying for the geographic reshuffling of existing jobs rather than new business activity. By pretending that these jobs are new, public officials and the recipient companies engage in what amounts to interstate job fraud.”
Interstate job piracy is not a fruitful strategy for economic growth, LeRoy noted: “The costs are high and the benefits are low, since a tiny number of companies get huge subsidies for moving what amounts to an insignificant number of jobs.” LeRoy added: “The flip side is job blackmail: the availability of relocation subsidies makes it possible
for companies that have no intention of moving to extract payoffs from their home states to stay put.”
Summarizing studies demonstrating that interstate job relocations have microscopic effects on state economies, the report reviews the history of economic competition among the states and presents eight case studies of those areas of the country where job piracy is currently most pronounced.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Walker’s Debt Level Worst Since 1970
The Debtor Governor
Walker’s Massive Borrowing Scheme
As a result, the percentage of general tax dollars going to pay for debt has gone up significantly. Vinehout requested an analysis of this from the Fiscal Bureau, which issued a memo noting that, “Historically, the state’s debt management policy” has kept the debt service on its general obligation bonds “at no more than 4.0%” of annual general tax revenues. “This policy is intended to ensure that debt service does not consume an increasing share of the state budget.”
But under Walker the level of indebtedness has jumped to “5.26% in 2013-14 and 4.88% in 2014-15 based (on) estimated revenues and debt service expenditures,” the memo noted.
No governor, Republican or Democrat, has ever driven borrowing up this high. Going back to 1970, the Fiscal Bureau told Kertscher, the level of indebtedness was always below four percent. Typically the level was below three percent.Also:
Walker’s Massive Borrowing Scheme
Saturday, September 7, 2013
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