Saturday, June 9, 2012

Scott Walker jobbed Us

Shortly before the election, when Scott Walker used the fine folks(and public employees)at the Department of Workforce Development to game the system to pretend that he had actually created jobs in his year and a half as Governor. Here at CogDis, we told you he was not being honest, that the JOBS WERE NOT THERE! Thanks to our friends at Badger Democracy, who did an ORR (which surprisingly was delayed until after the election) we find out that Scott Walker was indeed lying.
Professor Laura Dresser (C.O.W.S.) puts things into perspective. Based on accepting Scott Walker’s anemic job growth of 19,000+ jobs; we are still over 200,000 jobs behind getting back to 2007 levels of employment. In addition, recently released wage data indicates that real wages in Wisconsin declined 5% from 2010-2011. The nationwide average was a 1.1% increase for the same period. Wisconsin growth under Scott Walker has been virtually non-existent. Dresser points out that either the small number of jobs created are low wage jobs, or employers are inflating the numbers of jobs reported in the census. Declining wages and stagnant job growth. Jobs numbers released early and unverified for political propaganda. Documentation of the numbers released only after the election, showing disputed information from what is reported internally and to the US Government.
 Our friends at political heat also broke down the numbers: 

A significant gain in jobs from the first six months, then a decline, a recovery, and then another decline in the following six months.

Overall, the first six months of 2011 -- again, when Doyle's budget was in play, not Walker's -- were a net gain. The last six months (Walker's budget) produced a net loss, halving the gains created in the first part of the year.

But, lo and behold, just weeks before the election was to take place, Walker released these numbers without the month-to-month breakdown. And the Department of Workforce Development refused to release them until after the recall. All we heard, then, was that more than 20,000 jobs were created in 2011. No context. No nothing.

Walker spun the numbers to make it sound as if he had been responsible for the job gains. In fact, he was responsible -- for cutting them in half.

We were duped. The job creation came under an entirely different budget. And after Walker passed his own budget, nearly 25,000 jobs were lost.

Walker out right lied yet again to get elected.   Could it be that is why he had to raise outrageous sums of money, because he knew he could never run on his actual record?  Does he care that 1,177,135 citizens of Wisconsin felt he should be fired after just 16 months on the job?  How many of those who voted for him, did so thinking he had actually created jobs during his short tenure?   

I hope during the upcoming brat fest, that the democrats ask him about why he would knowingly mislead the citizens of Wisconsin in such an important issue? 

12 comments:

  1. A shameless sociopathic liar will get away with it every time when aided by a flood of advertising money from billionaires and the cooperation of the corporate media whores.

    We no longer live in a democracy. We live in a simulation of one.

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    1. YoumustbereallyimmatureJune 9, 2012 at 9:32 AM

      I know you are, but what am I? No, he was talking about pretty much any Republican politician these days.

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    2. No, Just pointing out a double standard. I too struggle with why people think differently than I do. For most, its easy to see why. But its the ones that have nothing to gain, or no environmental or social cause that isn't shared by the other party. No power to gain. Those are the people that still confuse me.

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  2. There are liars, damn liars, and staticians

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  3. "Shameless sociopath" is a tautology. You probably meant "Narcissistic sociopath", right? If not, consider one difference: The term shameless doesn't really have a good clinical definition and this ambiguity makes formulating an effective response difficult.

    On the other hand, narcissistic behaviors are fairly well defined, clinically, as in narcissistic personality disorder. This structure helps us to pose relevant problem definitions that are essential to formulating a strategy to deal with these individuals. I would argue that defining accurately the pathological profile of Walker will help progressives and others to be more effective in fighting the right-wing freakshow.

    There is a growing body of evidence revealing the powerful influence that social inclusion has on people's behavior and internal emotional/mental stability. And while everyone is narcissistic to some extent, we all know someone whose narcissism enters into the realm of pathology.

    In my own extremely limited experience, these individuals did not receive a minimal level of attention/recognition/acceptance/interaction etc. from critical adults during some formative period in their early development. To survive this subtle (or not) stress/trauma, these individuals had to create their own internal support and positive feedback mechanisms that all children require and part of that mechanism is a hyperfocus on their own needs over others.

    Despite the unpleasantness (or worse) of having to interact with narcissists, the only real evolutionary cost to this behavior would come if it reduces an individual's reproductive success. In extreme cases narcissists may be so focused on themselves that there is clear damage to their own reproductive success (e.g. neglect leading to death of one's offspring, etc.). Not surprisingly, most people agree that such behavior is pathological. In the majority of cases, however, direct relationships between specific behaviors and reproductive outcomes are much more difficult to determine.

    Sociopaths on the other hand have behaviors that are extreme on a different set of metrics and to some extent, individuals with sociopathic behaviors are more often than not considered more dangerous or threatening than are narcissists. In many cases, anti-social behavior of true sociopaths can only be controlled through the legal system and incarceration.

    Addressing the destructive aspects of a narcissist's behavior, short of using the legal and/or political system, may be best accomplished by social shunning. The Amish get it. Check out the pressure placed upon members who choose to leave the system and you'll see the power of forcing an individual to leave their social/family group and cutting off all contact.

    Let the shunning begin!

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    1. Interesting perspectives!


      Anything that seems a common denominator among the offspring of religious clergy, by chance?

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  4. All the right wing wants to do is win at all costs and by any means. They lied? Shocking. Liberals and progressives self police to a degree that becomes non-productive.

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  5. Palermo pizza is, too.

    After years of working over the city to cover his costs, Giacomo Fallucca is taking it out on the safety and compensation of his employees.

    Yet another elite wannabe, friend of Scott Walker.

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  6. We knew Scooter was telling porkies. He will do anything to stay in power and so will his big money puppet-masters. Sad times for Wisconsinites.

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  7. I work at a Job Center and with labor market information everyday. We all knew what BS those numbers were. In fact we thought it was funny until half the state started to believe it. Let me tell you, I used to wonder where they got the gullible people for the juries that let O.J. and Casey Anthony get away with murder. I don't wonder anymore, because half the population of Wisconsin is that gullible.
    It will be interesting to see if the main stream media calls him on it when the official numbers come out on June 28th. What people don't understand about the "revised" version (and let's face it, many won't care) is that it also looks at what kind of jobs were created.... temporary, seasonal, part-time, farm jobs, minimum wage jobs etc. It's not all about how many jobs were created if the jobs suck.

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  8. Tess- This is the real question. It's the media job and duty to hold politicians to account when they make claims, and call them out when they lie and deceive. Will the media care to do that?

    Also, if I'm reading the Badger Democracy post as well as Tess's post right, does this census adjust for seasonal effects, like the BLS monthly job numbers do? If not, then those job increases are even lamer, because it could be seasonal work that is not real job growth (much like when Walker tried to take credit last summer for an uptick in tourism-related jobs in the Dells).

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