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A new ad paid for by the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund was released on Saturday highlighting the fact that under Gov. Scott Walker's policies, the state of Wisconsin lost more jobs than any other state. All of Wisconsin's neighbor states gained jobs -- as did 44 of 50 states overall -- yet Wisconsin lost 12,500 jobs during Walker's first year in office, three times as many jobs as second place Missouri lost. The ad highlights not only this record, but the other key things Walker did to cut jobs and aid his wealthy allies.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported:
Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 44 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 6 states…The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment occurred in Wisconsin (-0.5 percent), followed by Alaska, Mississippi, and Rhode Island (-0.3 percent each).
Walker also raised taxes on working families:
The 2011-2013 state budget that Walker signed (2011 AB 40) included a $56 million reduction in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) which will have the result of raising the tax burden on working families.
He also cut job-training funds and cut $1.5 billion in taxes for corporations:
Walker signed several bills, including the state budget that provided for tax breaks that take effect with the 2011-13 fiscal year. The net effect of those bills and the budget is to decrease expected state tax revenue by in the 2011-13 biennium by about $208 million.
The total ten-year cost of tax breaks passed in 2011 is $2.33 billion. [Legislative Fiscal Bureau, “General Fund Taxes,” June 9, 2011]. The vast majority of these tax breaks ($1.575 billion) will benefit corporations.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin project that jobs will continue to leave the state, projecting that current policies will eliminate more than 20,000 additional jobs. Walker also canceled a planned high-speed rail line, scared off wind power investment in the state and cut unemployment insurance funds for working families temporarily hurt by the bad economy. All of these moves added to the job losses or pain felt by Wisconsin's working families.
