Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Walker keeps killing those jobs in Wisco.

The red line is US jobs. The blue line is Wisconsin jobs. 
Here's one reason Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is earning the nickname "Job Killer": His administration recently awarded a state contract to a software company based in Minnesota rather than Wisconsin. (Not that we have anything against Minnesota.)

The Stevens Point Journal reported:
Julie Lassa this afternoon urged state officials to delay hiring a Minnesota-based company to provide school software statewide until a review of the hiring process is completed. 
“The decision by Gov. Scott Walker and Superintendent (Tony) Evers to send the (student information system) contract out of state is tragic, not just for the good-paying jobs that may be lost, but for the chaos and expense that it will entail for thousands of Wisconsin schools that are already reeling from devastating budget cuts," the Stevens Point Democrat said via email this afternoon. "It will also send millions of our taxpayer dollars to Minnesota to help build that state's economy."
Whether Walker was aware of the decision is unclear, as he spends more than a week every month on personal time. But remember, one of the first things he did as governor was to refuse federal funding for high-speed rail, thus cutting 400 jobs. Then he drastically cut government spending, which slowed business activity in the state.

Here's another reason for Wisconsin's dismal performance creating jobs: Extremists in the Legislature who are less interested in creating jobs than they are in attacking labor, dismantling public education and undermining voting rights

The Cap Times made just that point in an editorial about Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald:
“The Democrats have zero credibility when it comes to job creation, and their ‘new’ ideas are the same as their old ideas,” grumbled the Republican leader’s spokesman. 
Really? For two years now, Fitzgerald has twisted the legislative agenda to attack labor, threaten voting rights, and undermine public education and services. So we beg to differ. From our perspective, it is Fitzgerald who has zero credibility on jobs. 
Make that negative credibility — as Wisconsin now trails the rest of the nation and all neighboring states when it comes to job creation.