Saturday, October 29, 2011

"It's Working!" Isn't Working Either

At an ever increasing pace, we are seeing example after example of how Scott Walker's agenda is not working for the people of Wisconsin as jobs disappear by the hundreds.  This is one of the many reasons why Walker is about to be recalled.

In preparation for said recall, Walker, using government resources, has launched a defensive website to try to show things aren't really as bad as they are.  But even though he's had months to prepare for what he knew was coming, his defensive campaign strategy is backfiring as he can't even cite examples that don't reinforce the need to oust him from office.

The Koch Brothers, in an effort to protect their investment, has done a money dump on their front groups Americans for Prosperity (notice not for the people) and MacIver Institute, to run misleading ads and have a website which only parrots Walker's tax payer-funded campaign website.

But they make their own blunders as well.  They have only one blog entry so far, and start with this (screencapped to make sure it's preserved):


The gentle reader can click on the picture to read it or for your convenience
We heard the sky would fall and that there would be massive layoffs of state and local government workers and teachers. Some asserted that Wisconsin’s budget reform would mark the end of the state as we know it.

But the sky’s still there. And Wisconsin is stronger than ever.

Thanks to Wisconsin’s budget reform

This website is committed to providing the facts to Wisconsin taxpayers. Every week there are more examples of how It’s Working. Together, the Americans for Prosperity Foundation and the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy have chronicled success stories from across Wisconsin.
Sounds like the Koch Brother's tool is serving his purpose well, right?

Well, it does but only until one actually checks what a real media source reports about the current situation:
So what accounted for the big drop in public-sector jobs last month?

The short answer is nobody knows for sure because the figures are statistical estimates and are often revised months later.

But it does appear that education jobs were a big piece of it.

Officials with the state Department of Workforce Development (DWD) compared the September 2011 figures with September 2010 and found an overall drop of 4,000 education jobs, which could range from teachers and administrators to support staff and janitors.

"The statistics don't provide the detail at the local level to answer the question definitively," says John Dipko, DWD spokesman. "With that said, we believe local education accounts for the majority of the drop in government jobs from August to September."

Dan Thompson, executive director of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, was a bit surprised to see the numbers showing 8,400 fewer local government jobs. He says cities and villages have been eliminating positions for years and are just about tapped out in trimming staff.

"You still need to pick up the trash and plow the snow so there's not a whole lot more cutting that can go on," says Thompson, whose group represents some 580 local units of governments.

Dan Rossmiller, a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, says the job losses in education are disappointing but not surprising. He says school districts are still cash-strapped, despite the changes to collective bargaining laws and increased health care and pension payments by employees.

"I don't think we've lost that many teachers but there is no question each district is laying people off," he says.
To summarize, the Koch Brothers, through their sock puppet groups, are lying through their teeth as much as Walker is in order to protect their investment. And we already know that the Koch Brothers' investments have nothing to do with bettering the state, unless you're referring to the state of their riches.

No comments:

Post a Comment