Friday, October 19, 2012

The Walker Budget Is Already Working! Part CLII

I appreciated the irony of this showing up in my reader this morning:


But actually reading the stories makes the irony even more poignant.

In one story, you have Becky the Cheerleader touting that there are so many job openings in the state that we are attracting the attention of international investors:
The state’s best resource is its ethical, hardworking people, according to Kleefisch.

Because of that, “we are attracting attention globally,” she said, citing as an example a group of investors from China who recently visited Madison and met with representatives of 11 companies from across the state.

“These private investors wanted to invest $100 million in these Wisconsin companies,” she said.

Acknowledging the need for local values and global vision is important to moving the state forward, according to Kleefisch.
I don't know what she would know about ethics or hard work. But that aside, is she saying that the Chinese want to reinvest Mitt Romney's money in our state?

But the fun continues:
Unemployment in Wisconsin isn’t a matter of not having enough jobs.

“We have open jobs in the state of Wisconsin,” she said. “It’s what we call our ‘workforce paradox.’”

While there are days when the state has more than 100,000 people on unemployment, it also has tens of thousands of available jobs, according to Kleefisch.

“This group (of unemployed people) doesn’t necessarily have the skills to take these jobs,” she said. “They don’t necessarily have what these employers are looking for. That’s why workforce development is so important.”
So there is only a fraction of job openings compared to the people who Kleefisch's partner, Scott Walker has put out of work. Not exactly a bragging point.

Then she doubles down by touting workforce development after they cut hundreds of millions from technical colleges which, you know, help develop workforces. Unless she is referring to their plan of bankrupting everyone so that they are willing to work for next to nothing as "development."

But then there is the other story which makes the latter scenario seem the more likely:
Allstate Insurance Co. says it will close its call center in Cross Plains by Dec. 31, ending the jobs of 214 employees.

Job creation! Yay!!
Cross Plains Village President Kurt Schlicht received a letter from Allstate on Wednesday, saying the closing is "the direct result of improvements in technology, declining insurance claim counts and efficiency gains."

"It's very troubling, very sad," Schlicht said. "It's another sock in the stomach for the economy."

Matt Schuenke, Cross Plains village administrator and clerk-treasurer, said Allstate's announcement came as a complete surprise. "There was no warning," he said.

It is the second big loss of call center jobs in the Madison area — within 35 miles of each other — in three weeks. Lands' End, of Dodgeville, said in late September it will end 149 positions at its Dodgeville call center by the end of January. Another 50 job cuts at the company's headquarters already have taken effect.
People have less money, since the Walker/Kleefisch regime has taken it away to give to their wealthy benefactors. With less money, things get cut. People decide to take a chance of going without expensive insurance so that they can keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. Then the companies have to lay off people and close up shop, making the problems only worse and leading to more lay offs in other areas.

With "job creators" like Walker and Kleefisch, who needs recessions?

1 comment:

  1. It certainly is an ironic time for Becca, Scott, Paul Jadin, Randy "Bed" Hopper, etc.
    Chinese investors, huh?!
    I can't help but think that the timing of this incredible pronouncement by Becca has something to do with this morning's Journal-Sentinel story about Scott Walker's "Dramatic" action (all of a sudden, now that he's been caught)on WEDC's failure to track loans for 99 businesses totalling $8 million (where is the source of this money being used
    to loan out to businesses?).
    Scott, and I'm sure Paul Jadin, want us to believe that this was all some innocent "mistake," that repeatedly went on for months upon months.
    Uncoincidentally, Jadin announced recently that he was leaving WEDC in November, taking another job with a Madison-area economic development group (more private, I'm sure).
    This was no mistake by WEDC, and somebody's head should roll on this fiasco.

    ReplyDelete