It would seem that the GOP whitewashing machine is still stuck on the spin cycle.
Now, with the report that Wisconsin will be dealing with a probable structural debt of $1.76 billion, the Scott Walker spin cycle will certainly be cranked even higher.
The so-called 96 percent confidence rating that Ron Reynolds mentioned in his Sept. 4 letter was from a survey promulgated by Wisconsin Manufacturing and Commerce, a corporate lobbying group that supports Walker.
As far as the low findings for former Gov. Jim Doyle, what other findings would you expect from this manufactured survey.
Another fact that Reynolds failed to mention was that both the state debt and job loss under former Gov. Jim Doyle came during the years when we were going through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The entire nation, not just Wisconsin, was suffering the same problems thanks to the bankrupt policies of former President George W. Bush.
Remember, when President Barack Obama was first elected in 2008, the U.S. was hemorrhaging between 500,000 and 800,000 jobs per month.
Reynolds and the Republican spin machine also seem to think that Mary Burke worked as the Commerce secretary for the entire eight years of the Doyle administration. In fact, she only worked for Doyle from February 2005 to November 2007. During Burke’s time in that role, 55,000 jobs were created in Wisconsin.
Walker campaigned on the oft-repeated promise of 250,000 jobs during his first term. His policies have delivered less than half of that so far. Regardless of Republican spin, Wisconsin is still last in the Midwest in job creation, and its economy seems more like Mississippi or Alabama.
Furthermore, the accepted definition of “business” when it comes to economic growth does not include small non-profit groups like Little League and Girl Scouts. Counting non-profits is nothing more than a gimmick used by Walker to pad his dismal efforts at business creation. It is usually frowned upon to use your own set of facts.
The touted $2 billion in tax relief has gone mostly to those in the upper tax brackets with little for those who are most in need and would put the extra money back into the economy on basic needs.
That $380 million increase in state funding in the current state budget is more likely to aid voucher schools than our local public schools. For example, the Waupaca School District is facing another $500,000 cut its budget this year. In his first budget, Walker cut funding to K-12 public schools, universities and tech colleges by $1.1 billion. It was the biggest cut in state funding for education in Wisconsin history and ranked second only to Alabama nationwide.
George Lorenz
Waupaca