[img_assist|nid=20791|title=Coo-coo|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=150|height=160]Want powerful evidence that Scott Walker is blowing Cocoa Puffs when he touts the strength of his economic policies? It's all in two short paragraphs.
In the wake of new Wisconsin job creation figures (see earlier posting here from John Kaufman), Walker was quoted in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as follows:
Walker noted that job growth in Wisconsin effectively accounted for about half of the new jobs in the nation in June, an abysmal month for job creation... .
"It's incredibly important to put that in perspective," Walker said. "To have 9,500 net new jobs in the state at a time when the country saw just 18,000 net new jobs all across the country is incredibly good news, and it's driven by the rebirth of tourism in the state."
"Incredibly"? You bet! Anyone with a shred of common sense knows that can't be true. Wisconsin created HALF of all new jobs that popped up NATIONWIDE last month? Ridiculous.
And so is Walker's rhetoric, and so are his PR people and politicized labor statisticians. He also would like state residents to believe that -- within three days of his budget signing on June 27 -- businesses responded with thousands of unexpected yet totally related hires that showed up on the June report. And all as a result of his superior economic development policies! Righhhhhhht.
Not to mention, as others have already noted, that nearly half of Wisconsin's new private-sector jobs were in the tourism, hospitality and food services category -- mainly low-paying and seasonal jobs with few or no benefits.
Of course there is one truth in Walker's assertion: Nationwide job creation was abysmal in June all right, and that means Walker's own job creation formula was likewise abysmal. You can't have it both ways.