Gov. Scott Walker State of the State Address

Gov. Walker got 80 rounds of applause and 42 standing ovations during his State of the State address recently. Expectedly the Republican applauded more than the Democrats (Democrats clapping 32 times and standing ovations 18 times. There clapping was mainly for guests at the event such as Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Gary Wetzel.)

Of course Gov. Walker claims great success in his materialistic vision for Wisconsin in more jobs.  You will remember in claimed he would create a quarter of a million jobs for the state. He reached about 42% of that claim. And he has a state surplus which he wants to give back in tax income and property tax refunds; always popular if not well advised.

So I decided to do a bit of fact checking. Following is some of my research.

Rutgers Reginal Report Issue paper Number 30 August 2012: lists Wisconsin in the 10 states with the lowest private sector job recovery rates.

The Cap Times: Updates job growth numbers but Wisconsin No. 44 among states since 2011 (March 19, 2013)  Check here.  

Chamber of Commerce puts Wisconsin in Tier III (Poor)  on “The Impact of State Employment Policies on Job Growth: A 50 State Review. (2011) 201103WFI_StateBook (1).pdf  Check here  

If you check the recommended sites you will give some very good charts listing details. Unfortunately I could not capture them a pictures to add here. 

Back to the surplus; Gov. Walker had a great opportunity help education which through his efforts is where most of the surplus came from; or not investing in the future of Wisconsin. But that doesn’t sell well, especially with those well-healed backers he has. Walker does not work on income equality and provide plans to help Wisconsinites improve their quality of life and gain a better chance of realizing the American Dream.

A lot of political spin but not much real progress for the majority of Wisconsin citizens.

Walkers address reminds me the of reported Russians newspaper account of a two car race between a Russian Car and an American car. The Headline ran "Russians car comes in second, American car comes in next to last."