Sunday, August 6, 2017

Why do we keep trusting Wisconsin's failing corporates?

As the discussion over Foxconn and other economic development scams ideas went on last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its local metro jobs figures for June. And it showed just how badly Wisconsin's largest metro area was lagging other big cities in the Midwest.

Year-over-year job growth, June 2016-June 2017
Metropolitan areas
Twin Cities, Minn +64,400 (+3.3%)
Chicago +59,600 (+1.3%)
Detroit +43,900 (+2.2%)
Cincinnati +32,600 (+3.0%)
Indianapolis +31,800 (+3.1%)
Columbus, Ohio +21,600 (+2.0%)
Cleveland +21,000 (+2.0%)
Milwaukee +5,400 (+0.6%)

Milwaukee's job growth is less than half of every one of these metropolitan areas on the list, and the Twin Cities have added 12 times more jobs than the Milwaukee area. So explain to me why we should listen to anything by this anti-Milwaukee GOP Legislature and GOP mega-donors like Tim Sheehy and the MMAC when it comes to improving the business climate in southeastern Wisconsin?

Note this exchange during the Fox-con "public" hearing that was dominated by GOP interests cheerleading for the deal.



I also noticed Wacko Macco trying to denigrate Madison's business environment when news came out last week that Foxconn might also be considering a second, higher-tech area in Dane County. You wanna compare our home areas, Johnny?

Job growth, June 2016-June 2017
Madison metro +5,100 (+1.3%)
Green Bay metro +400 (+0.2%)

Job growth June 2012- June 2017
Madison metro +33,800 (+9.2%)
Green Bay metro +8,200 (+4.8%)

Imagine how much less that job growth would be in GB if the Packers weren't putting in huge money to renovate Lambeau and create the Titletown District? As it is, it's still barely half the rate of growth of the Madison area.

And this shouldn't shock you, but Wacko Macco doesn't think Foxconn's horrid history on worker rights is a big deal.



(PS- Hey Johnny- your bio says you "attended" (read: didn't graduate from) UW-Green Bay and you have constantly voted along with your fellow Assembly GOP regressives to cut and denigrate the UW System. You don't get to wear Badger gear without this being called out).

This is why it's disappointing to see Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and County Exec Chris Abele go along with this Fox-con and other MMAC-backed crap. The MMAC and WisGOP don't have Milwaukee's or Wisconsin's best interests in mind- all they care about is funneling money and power to their fellow oligarchs. The Fox-con debate and the "WEDC-privatization" model has an awful record when it comes to jobs creation, and it's pretty clear to me that if Dems want to win elections in Wisconsin in the future, they need to stop playing footsie with the regressives that "represent" the state's business community and their GOP-puppets.

Instead, we need to be following the Madison and Twin Cities models of improving quality of life to the point where you have a desirable place for talent to locate, and good businesses choose to follow the talent. This can be done without giving away bags of cash to Foxconn or other corporate slime, and instead investing that money in education, infrastructure and a clean environment here at home.

3 comments:

  1. I can understand why Abele and Barrett are for FoxConn. If they are against it, it will be framed as being anti-job and if FoxConn doesn't happen, they will be blamed. However, they could come up with alternative plans "just in case" it doesn't happen. No reason not to have a plan B that is well thought out and well publicized.

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    Replies
    1. You can couch it properly. The jobs and development sound nice, but not if we're going to be limiting our future investments in infrastructure and draining resources from our schools and communities." I'm not hearing that at all, and it is,not the first time they've been,happy to play ball with regressive fools like the MMAC.

      Heck, I don't oppose Foxconn locating here, as long as the wages and work conditions are good. I object to giving away billions in cash and the environmental degradation.

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  2. Is it that they don't have these plans and ideas, that they don't talk about them or that when they do talk about them they are ignored by the press?

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