The Un-committed Governor

Gov. Scott Walker is asking for your vote again this November to finish what he started when he was elected in 2010. Before you vote, take a look at Walker’s failed job creation promise, the structural deficit caused by his policy decisions, and the fact that he hasn’t committed to staying the full term as Governor.

In 2010, Scott Walker won the governor’s race in Wisconsin and declared, “Wisconsin is open for business.” Since then, Wisconsin ranks 32nd in net change to unemployment, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, analyzed by the Washington Post.

While the economy has improved under Walker, it has done so at a rate that is similar to every other state in the union. Walker made big promises when running for Governor and has yet to deliver on the biggest- creating 250,000 jobs during his first term. Right now only 100,000 jobs have been created in Wisconsin.

“We wanted a big, bold, aggressive goal. Whether we are at 249,000 or 255,000 or whatever the magic number is for us,” Walker said at an Aug. 27 press conference. “I’m not going to take a rest the minute we hit 250,000.”

You’d better grab some coffee, Mr. Governor.

Walker recently declined to commit to any job creation number for the upcoming election, but did not regret making his prediction.

“You know, you take over a team and say, ‘We’re going to turn around and be in the playoffs, we’re going to win the Super Bowl eventually,’” Walker said. “We aim to have a Super Bowl-performance economy.”

Yeah, I remember Brett Favre heaving long balls and completing passes 40 percent of the time.

So far, Walker has created about 40 percent of the jobs that were promised. That’s a failing grade in most classes. He’s going to have to pull an all-nighter in order to make up the other 60 percent of the jobs he promised while campaigning.

Do your teachers often give you a second chance to turn an F into an A? I’m guessing he wants the next four years to do some extra credit and make it up to Wisconsin voters.

Recently the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau released a report showing that Wisconsin is facing a structural budget that will have a $1.8 billion deficit from 2015-17.

In 2011, when faced with a similar budget, Walker cut $1.6 billion from public schools. Next February when a new budget will be proposed and voted on, where do you think cuts are going to come from? My guess is they won’t be asking for help from the Koch brothers to make up that gap.

Beyond just the budget, if elected, is Walker committed to helping Wisconsin recover from the recession over the next four years? Earlier this year, when asked if he would commit to serving the full term as Wisconsin’s Governor, Walker replied, “I love being governor, and I’m committed to being a good governor going forward.”

Yeah, they were asking about serving the full term, not how you like your job.

When pressed on the question Walker replied, “Again, what I’m going to stay focused on and be committed to is telling the people of the state what I plan to do in the next term. I want to be governor and that’s the only thing I’m focused on right now.”

When you read between the lines, it sounds like Walker is committed to being elected governor until he runs for President in 2016. Most presidential campaigns start over a year before the election takes place. So when Wisconsin is facing a huge budget deficit, Walker will be kicking off his Presidential campaign.

Walker has said one of the reasons he was unable to create as many jobs as he originally promised was because he had to spend so much time with the recall election in 2012, and that businesses were waiting to see what happened after the election to decide what to do next. What happens when Walker decides to throw his hat in the ring for president next fall?

Scott Walker isn’t committed to Wisconsin for the next four years and you shouldn’t commit to him.