Mass layoffs and job loss mean Walker shouldn't be ripping on the FIBs

You might have heard by now that Wisconsin led the Midwest in mass layoffs for January, and the Walker Administration should be rightfully ripped, as much of the Midwest and the country continues to rebound while Wisconsin goes backward.

One of the states that Wisconsin had more mass layoffs than in January was Illinois, which is quite an accomplishment given that Illinois' job base is more than twice that of Wisconsin, and should be higher based solely on that. But it was not the case last month.

Mass layoff stats, January 2012
Illinois 55 mass layoff events, 4,823 first-time unemployment claimants
Wisconsin 78 mass layoff events, 6,014 first-time unemployment claimants

Wisconsin had 23 more events and 25% more first-time unemployment claimants than our neighbors to the south, despite the fact that Illinois has twice the population. No, that's not good.

And those stats are extra noteworthy because Walker and squawk radio were using Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's plan to cut Medicaid by as much as $2.7 billion and major Corrections cuts as a reason to say Walker's Way was better and "working." But what is not mentioned by Scotty and co. is the fact that Quinn chose not to gut Illinois' K-12 or college education funding, and is in fact wants to put in a bit more money to early childhood classes and low-income college scholarships to keep up with demands. It is no different than Walker choosing to cut BadgerCare, K-12 education, the UW System and aid to local communities while giving away hundreds of millions to the Road Builders. It's just a matter of what Quinn has chosen to cut and tax vs. Walker.

And given the results of the last few months, maybe we should conisder that Quinn is handling the situation in a better way, because Illinois' has done laps around Wisconsin in job creation since Walker's budget took effect last Summer.

Private sector jobs since June
Illinois +7,500
Wisconsin -28,100 (Illinois up 35,600)

Private sector jobs since July
Illinois +22,400
Wisconsin -16,900 (Illinois up 38,300)

Not that I'd ever want to be a FIB instead of a Cheesehead, but I sure would not be comparing our "50th out of 50" job performance with the Flatlanders around now, Scotty. Although given the pay-to-play corruption and pathetically one-sided gerrymandering, I'd say Walker and the WisGOPs have done a fine imitation of Illinois-style governance, haven't they?