“Even for Walker, who has built a career on making promises he breaks, this is staggering,”

[midnight]

Walker Claim Check: ‘250,000 New Jobs’ Would End Wisconsin Unemployment, Cut Rate to 0.03 Percent
Latest in Series of Unsubstantiated Claims by Walker

Madison – Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is claiming he will create “250,000 jobs” in Wisconsin, which if done would essentially reduce the unemployment rate to zero. The lowest recorded unemployment rate in recent Wisconsin history is 2.4 percent in 1999.

“This is just another ridiculous claim by Scott Walker that cannot be backed up with any facts,” said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director. “First, he says he’ll give $2 billion in tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy in the middle of a $2 billion deficit, now he says he will reduce the unemployment rate to zero in Wisconsin – which is laughable.”

According to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, there are 250,900 unemployed Wisconsinites, meaning Walker’s claim would require him to find a job for nearly every single unemployed man and woman in the state of Wisconsin.

“Instead of coming up with a detailed economic recovery plan,” said Ross. “Walker simply pulled a number out of a hat and his choice of a number reveals how little he knows about the Wisconsin economy.”

Walker has previous called for tax breaks totaling nearly $2 billion without providing any list of the drastic cuts he would need to make in order to fulfill this promise to the wealthy and corporations which would overwhelmingly benefit from Walker’s Bush-style tax cuts. Walker’s “plan”:


Slash income taxes for the top one percent of income earners who make more than $225,000 a year – two-year budget cost: $287 million.
Reopen the “Las Vegas Loophole,” which allows Wisconsin businesses to shelter their tax obligations to Wisconsin families through phantom “offices” in states without corporate income tax – two-year budget cost: $375 million.
Repeal changes made to the capital gains tax deduction, despite the fact 70 percent of capital gains filings are from those earning more than $200,000 a year – two-year budget cost: $243 million.
Shelter the assets of the wealthiest Wisconsinites even more by a radical end to tax paid on retirement income, regardless of income – two-year budget cost: $920 million.

“Even for Walker, who has built a career on making promises he breaks, this is staggering,” said Ross. “He owes an explanation to the both the media and the people of Wisconsin how he will end all Wisconsin unemployment – or admit the central part of his economic development plan is big, fat lie.”http://fwix.com/milwaukee/share/0e334aaa20/walker_hates_light_rail_loves_the_subway

[mojowork_n]

1. The only way that claim could come true...

...might be if the number for "jobs lost" rose to 750,000 -- at the same time. Then you might have a significant number of those folks finding new vocations as security guards, pinkertons, and other types of corporate vigilantes. They'd be needed to protect the gated communities, from the rest of us.

[dragonlady]

2. He's starting to do just what you mention

Privatizing the county work force with lower-paid contract workers:

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is winning his privatization battle by flexing his emergency budget authority, accomplishing by fiat what the County Board rejected in the past.

The first instance was his decision Friday to lay off the 27 county security guards at the courthouse complex and two other county buildings and replace them with lower-paid employees from a private firm. The board refused to go along with that as part of the 2010 budget approved in November, citing safety concerns.

Critics say Friday's move violated workers' union contracts and was on shaky legal ground. But Walker says his "bold, aggressive move" was legal under his emergency power to keep the budget in the black.

Walker says he's prepared to continue on that path.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/86090727.html

Isn't that nice.

[mojowork_n]

3. Leave it to the Journal Sentinel to declare Walker's "winning"

...even as they seriously under-report the actual number of workers laid off.

The Shepherd today had a direct quote from Walker's office:

According to a fact sheet supplied by Fran McLaughlin, spokeswoman for Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, the county would save $1.8 million by laying off 27 security guards, 25 parks maintenance workers, nine airport employees and 15 other workers.

http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-10038-scott-walker-sends-7.html

I really don't understand how the Journal's reporter (Steve Schultze) could have possibly failed to omit all the other people losing jobs, unless having to move your lips while you read is such a handicap, the poor sap just ran out of breath after the second comma in that sentence.

Or maybe editorial policy had something to do with it. At least Schultze put something approaching a number on the payoff to the private security firm, "up to" $45,000. For stepping in to offer the laid-off workers their jobs back, with a cut in pay. They had been making between $10.61/hr and $15.02/hr (with health insurance) to "up to" $10.50/hr (with no doubt crappier insurance).

[midnight]

4. Getting rid of these important jobs is a security problem...

The vision of plugged toilets, debris, and unknown standards from a private security is just the surface... Lost wages for those who in the past had to live in Milwaukee Co. means more needing assistance, and additional strain on resources.