WisGOPs keep manufacturing lies about wasteful, expensive M&A giveaway

On Thursday, Politifact Wisconsin reiterated what we already knew – nearly 80% of the Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax Credit went to people and businesses making $1 million or more.

Shortly after the increase was implemented, though, the increase in manufacturing jobs wasn’t much. Manufacturing jobs increased only from 455,576 in 2013 to 468,600 jobs in 2015, or a 2.7 percent increase, the Capital Times reported in a May 16, 2016 article.

Meanwhile, the agricultural industry continues to struggle, particularly with dairy farms as milk prices continue to fall and more farms close down. Wisconsin lost 638 dairy farms in 2018, an average of nearly two a day. (and has lost 265 since the end of 2018)

"Most economists would argue reducing state income tax is a very ineffective way of generating increases in employment," Reschovsky said. "Wisconsin has been robust (in job growth) but I think it’s even slower than the national average."

It's even worse than Polit-“fact” checker Mica Soellner lets on in her analysis. Soellner also quotes manufacturing job growth for 2017-18 that has since been revised down by large amounts after the pre-election figures from Scott Walker’s Department of Workforce Development were compared to the “gold standard” Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

And because Wisconsin has the 2nd-highest proportion of jobs in manufacturing in the US, we are a state that should especially benefit when manufacturing employment is growing, as it has in the US over the last 2-3 years. But since the M&A giveaway has had its full write-off in effect until the start of 2016, Wisconsin’s growth in manufacturing jobs has been notably lower than the national average in the same time period.

As you can see, the gap in job growth has widened a lot in the last year to the point that the US is outgaining Wisconsin for jobs by a ratio of 9 to 5. Yet WisGOPs continue to lie and claim this tax cut works and improves the state’s business climate. And they use dishonest statements like this as a reason that we should keep giving away $516 million in this budget to large manufacturers.

After losing thousands of manufacturing jobs in the 8 years prior to Republicans taking the majority, Wisconsin has created 41,800 manufacturing jobs in the 8 years since. Manufacturing jobs pay 23% higher than average pay in Wisconsin. (U.S. BLS) #wibudget

— Wisconsin Assembly GOP (@WIAssemblyGOP) April 5, 2019

Remember, in WisGOP World, George Bush was never president, the Great Recession never happened, and our economy didn’t recover under Obama. Wisconsin’s economy is a force field completely separated from the rest of America (#headdesk)

Let me also remind you that not only have manufacturers failed to add many jobs in Wisconsin, they also aren’t paying nearly enough for those that they do hire. This is also from last month's update of the "gold standard" QCEW.

Average weekly wage, manufacturing Sept 2018
Minn $1,269
Ill. $1,261
Mich $1,214
Ind. $1,131
Ohio $1,127
Iowa $1,103
Wis. $1,078

And yet, WisGOP members of the Joint Finance Committee were complaining this week that the “manufacturers they talk to” can’t find employees at the wages they offer, and that those . The evidence shows that maybe those small-timers aren’t paying market value for skilled workers, and there is nothing that indicates the lower taxes is encouraging the higher wages that need to be paid in order to get workers to take these jobs.

Maybe the WisGOPs should talk less to their donors that run businesses, and instead start caring about workers and investing in quality of life that would actually make people want to stay in and find work in Wisconsin. Redirecting the $260 million a year we give away to big manufacturers seems like a great source to improve the “quality of life” part of that equation.