The headlines throughout the state this morning uniformly cry that Wisconsin is leading the country in job loss. I'm happy to see that people are finally seriously noticing this. But in the typical state of "he said, she said" journalism, what we are mostly hearing is that the Democrats say this is awful and a failure on the part of Scott Walker, and that the Republicans are saying that good news is just around the corner (apparently right after Walker wins the recall election) and that the unemployment rate is doing down.
As we've pointed out before, the fact that the unemployment rate is going down is a red herring. At this point the job situation in the state is so dire that many people are giving up, or their unemployment benefits have ended. Or they've left the state for other spots where jobs are more plentiful (and I have multiple friends and acquaintances who have done just that). The drop in unemployment rate is a symptom of how bad things actually are, not something to be praised.
Walker sailed into office on a platform of creating jobs. Lots and lots of jobs. So far he is in the hole. And the longer he is in office (along with the regressive legislature that came with him) the worse things become. Does he genuinely think that the job losses are due to the recall? Does he really believe that employers are not hiring because of the fear of a Democratic governor? I think not. If Walker keeps his office, then this excuse will simply be replaced with another.
We need to stop believing the voodoo of trickle-down economics. We need to work toward putting money into the pockets of people who will actually spend it and boost the economy, rather than handing it out to the rich and hoping they will let some of it loose to others. We need to take back the state for the people who live here. We need to recall Scott Walker and the senators who support him. Don't forget to vote in the primary and the final recall election. Your job may depend on it.