Wisconsin economy lags after Walker's spending and tax cuts

The Chicago Tribune ^ | June 26, 2015 | Staff

[2ndDivisionVet]

In 2011, new Republican Gov. Scott Walker set the creation of 250,000 jobs as the benchmark for success of his new administration. Walker missed that goal by a wide margin over his first term despite an embrace of sweeping tax cuts aimed at stimulating growth. Instead, the cuts helped dig a more than $2 billion hole in the state budget.

Wisconsin ranked 36th among the states and District of Columbia in the pace of private-sector job growth during Walker’s term, trailing all Rust Belt states and all but one other state in the Midwest.

A PROJECTED SURPLUS TURNS INTO A DEFICIT

JANUARY 2014: Report from the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau

The report predicts that by the end of June 2015, the state’s general fund will have a $1.04 billion balance. This estimate is based in part on the anticipation of an $892.7 million increase in tax collections....

[conservativejoy]

The labor participation rate was 69% when Walker took office. The fact that it now stands at 68% is not a reason for celebration.

There is a resource that Wisconsin has that could have been developed more to provide jobs. Wisconsin is the Saudi Arabia of sand. There has been some development in this area, but not nearly enough.

[jmaroneps37]

The left will ALWAYS tell you who they fear the most.

[Moonman62]

What does it look like when Wisconsin before Walker is compared to Wisconsin after Walker?

[sgtyork]

-———The fact that it now stands at 68% is not a reason for celebration.

Say, that’s a real statistic instead of your usual vague spew! Did you make it up? What’s the link? What month was that? Is there a statistically significant difference between 68.4 and 69 percent when examining the variability over those years? Do you dispute that 68.4 PERCENT dramatically outshines the NATIONAL AVERAGE? How much above the national average would satisfy you?

———Wisconsin .... is the Saudi Arabia of sand. There has been some development in this area, but not nearly enough.

Hmmm, the development of fracking sand has too much for your lefty buddies....

Number of Wisc. frac sand facilities increased from 7 in 2010 to 145 today, even though the health implications of the boom aren’t yet fully understood.

http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20131105/frac-sand-mining-boom-health-hazard-feared-lawmakers-aim-ease-regulation

Did you notice they called it a BOOM? Are you really saying that a SEVEN-FOLD INCREASE IN FIVE YEARS isn’t enough?

There’s another resource that Wisconsin has that Walker tried to develop IRON and mining manfacturers. And you have posted lies about this
effort in other posts.

Its obvious you are paid by some organization to spread these vague statements in social media. Why don’t you go back to those people and tell them you are getting the Snot slapped out of you?

[mosesdapoet]

spending and tax cuts, PIF wrote:
This headline comes after Wis Dems have done everything in their power to prevent job creation in Wis, including the building of an iron mine in impoverished northern Wis.

Thank You and it bears repeating along with some of their platform that you never heard about in their platforms including booing God...

[conservativejoy]

If the employment ratio was 69% when Walker took office and has decreased under him, I don’t see how that is a positive thing for him.

Like I said, there are a lot of people who can understand statistics and are not going to be persuaded by spin. There is no way to make the economic and job situation look flattering to Walker unless you are a complete slobbering lapdog.

I look forward to candidates like Trump dissecting his miserably incompetent record.

[conservativejoy]

Are you relocating from Wisconsin? Hope you will be happy in S.C!

[sgtyork]

——there are a lot of people who can understand statistics

too bad you aren’t one of them. ... you never responded was that POINT SIX PERCENT decrease in the labor participation rate seasonal? Exceeded the normal variability? Numerically challenged you are.

——are not going to be persuaded by spin.

Keep spinning these Hortense...

FOUR POINT FOUR PERCENT UNEMPLOYMENT

SECOND STRONGEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN THE MIDWEST

Completed his last budget with a $ 500 MILLION DOLLAR SURPLUS after giving Wisconsinites a $ 540 MILLION DOLLAR TAX CUT.

Labor participation rate FIVE POINT SEVEN percent above the national average.

His state ranks as the 32nd best state for business by FORBES .. UP FROM 48th

SECOND BEST SAT SCORES IN THE COUNTRY.

I like Trump, I wish he was running as a Democrat. Trump should run for governor of Illinois because he has so much experience with managing bankrupticies.

So Trumps got billions of dollars and can afford to have a paid troll running down his opponents on conservative sites. He would be angry that you are doing such a terrible job. He would say ‘You’re Fired’

-——candidates like Trump dissecting his miserably incompetent record.

You haven’t laid a glove on Walker’s record despite all your lying and blathering (’he should have done better with fracking’ hahahahahahah you’re killing me!!!!)

[Thunder90]

Stop posting HuffPo and DU talking points.

[conservativejoy]

I noticed you quote Forbes but you don’t mention the fact that the alleged surplus you also talk about is challenged by Forbes. Wisconsin uses some creative accounting tricks and ignore the structural deficit to arrive at that fictitious number. The only time Walker mentions the real numbers is when he talks about the deficit he inherited. Then he uses a different formula for his budget which leaves out the structural deficit when fooling voters.

[conservativejoy]

The sources I get most of my info are Forbes, WSJ, and Bloomberg.

[sgtyork]

———alleged surplus

This was a real budget-end surplus. I previously posted the link. You persist in lying. I will type slowly for the budgetary thinking impaired.

THE..... SURPLUS.... FROM.... ONE.... BUDGET .... REDUCES.... THE STRUCTURAL.... DEFICIT.... OF.... THE.... NEXT.... BUDGET.

———The only time Walker mentions the real numbers ... when fooling voters.

You have NO SHAME repeating lies that I have already disproven.

Speaking with reporters on Friday, Walker said “our estimates show that, even if we were below the ten year average, we would still have more than enough revenue growth coming in the next two years of the state budget to more than make up for the projected structural.”

http://www.wrn.com/2013/03/revenue-growth-could-deal-with-structural-deficit/

And Wisconsin Republicans have been consistent in a transparent approach to budget. Here’s the Assembly Chair of the Joint Finance Committee

This budget which extends through June 30, 2015 is still projected to end with a healthy cash balance. The rainy day fund is at an all time high. The “structural deficit” is a state government concept and some states do not even calculate, or calculate using different methods. In this state, LFB assume there are no growths in revenues or expenditures all the way through June 30, 2017.

Revenues tend to grow, and Walker’s team has proven they can manage the expense side of the budget.

http://www.rightwisconsin.com/perspectives/6-Things-The-Media-Wont-Tell-You-About-the-Structural-Deficit-274453591.html

Some are starting to question if Donald Trump is a Democratic mole trying to disrupt the Republican nominating process. Based on your work, repeating Democrat talking points, perhaps there’s some truth to that.

[conservativejoy]

Walker said “Our ESTIMATES show....”

Wonder why Walker pushed to close Wisconsin’s open records policy?? Well, I don’t wonder considering the chickens that are going to be coming home to roost.

[sgtyork]

She’s a Trump troll. I’ve rebutted all of her lies.

She may use some mainstream sources but there’s a lot of lefty thought there too. In one stellar post she quoted a 3 year-old Forbes article confusing the 2012 Walker ‘deficit’ with the current one.

I’m growing disappointed in Trump. If all he can do is lie about his opponents, that will not be helping us out of this mess.

[sgtyork]

Yep, there’s a gracious acknowledgement of your lie.

[justiceseeker93]

Just finished reading Scott Walker's book, titled "Unintimidated." It's obviously the kind of book that relatively unknown (nationally) prospective presidential candidates put out to inform readers of their worthiness by touting their accomplishments. The Walker book is loaded with economic facts and figures during his first couple of years in office as governor of Wisconsin, just about all positive and believed to be due his signature policy of disempowering public sector labor unions to effect savings in state and local governments, and thus turn a large state government deficit into a surplus, while at the same time providing improved government services and implementing some tax cuts.

So now the Chicago Tribune comes along and spills out statistics on Walker's Wisconsin that pretty much paint a dismal picture diametrically opposite to Walker's rosy one. The obvious question seems to be who is more truthful, Walker or the Chicago Tribune?

Although I'm not sold on Walker's candidacy for the presidency as of now, you have to think he's a lot more candid with his evaluation of the Wisconsin economy than the Tribune is. The posted article seems to be motivated by that lefty MSM penchant for trying to destroy any Republican presidential wannabe with supposed conservative credentials before his campaign can get off the ground.

In this instance, there is even another factor igniting the Tribune's animus against Walker, because Walker often contrasted his economic and budget balancing accomplishments in Wisconsin with the lousy performance of the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago, both under Democrat rule for so many years.

[fieldmarshaldj]

The Tribune hasn’t been a good paper in decades.

[DoughtyOne]

I would also tend to believe Walker more. I think the Wisconsin budget speaks for itself, and the lying media these days has about as much credibility with me on matters like this as a pile of dog poo.

[sgtyork]

Thanks for the post justiceseeker. Walker’s reforms continue to improve the economy here. Of course the Chicago Tribune was slavishly bullhorning Obama’s comments this week in LaCrosse. I hope you saw the statistics I posted above. Here’s the bullet points for WI current economic stats:

FOUR POINT FOUR PERCENT UNEMPLOYMENT

SECOND STRONGEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN THE MIDWEST

Labor participation rate FIVE POINT SEVEN percent ABOVE the national average.

Completed his last budget with a $ 500 MILLION DOLLAR SURPLUS after giving Wisconsinites a $ 540 MILLION DOLLAR TAX CUT.

Current employment statistics are right from the WI workforce department’s website.

http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/newsreleases/2015/unemployment/150416_march_state.pdf

also there

——Wisconsin ranked 16th highest in the number of manufacturing jobs gained during the 12-month period ending in December 2014.
-——A 6.4 percent gain in construction jobs (+6,158), reflecting the sector’s highest fourth-quarter annual growth rate since at least 2002.
——Total private-sector wages increased by 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014 over the same quarter in 2013.

[justiceseeker93]

The Tribune hasn’t been a good paper in decades.

Change in ownership sometime in the 1970s(?) turned it around from staunchly conservative (when it boastfully called itself "World's Greatest Newspaper" in one corner of page 1 and "An American Newspaper for Americans" in the other corner) to its current leftist rag status.