First Hologic Inc. announced it is likely closing its Madison faciity, resulting in 150 employees being laid off.
Then comes news that IPacesetters LLC, a New Jersey-based call center has told state officials it may close its call center in Eau Claire, a move that would throw 154 people out of work.
Just remember folks….IT’S WORKING!
(If the “IT” in question is Scott Walker’s failure to create jobs in Wisconsin)
“Hi folks – i’m Scott Walker – I’ve got good news for Wisconsin and Bad news for Tom Barrett – Wisconsin actually added jobs.”
LOL
This never would have happened under Tom Barrett. Yep, I remember the good ol’ days when Zach posted all those job announcements in the Jim Doyle years.
And FMSN wins the Non Sequitor of the Day Award for the 169th day in a row! Congratulations and take a bow!
Thanks Rich, you are too kind. I’ll just keep waiting for when this blog starts reporting job gain announcements. Because there certainly have been some of those, but you’d never know it by coming here.
You know, you’re more than welcome to do so yourself. Not that’s there’s been many. And remember, it wasn’t anybody here that PROMISED to create 250,000 jobs in his first term, and then doubled down on it. Not to speak for Zach, but that would be my angle.
At the beginning of Gov. Doyle’s first term in office, the unemployment rate in Wisconsin stood at 5.5%. At the end of Doyle’s first term, unemployment was at 4.8%.
Sure, the unemployment rate spiked during Gov. Doyle’s second term, but let’s not forget the national economy tanked during that time period. However, let’s also keep in mind that Wisconsin’s unemployment rate declined every month from January 2010 until Gov. Walker was sworn in in January 2011.
For me the issue isn’t so much the actual job news…although dismal compared to our peers…I am not sure how much impact a governor actually can have on the job numbers. The issue is the promise that Governor Walker made during his initial gubernatorial campaign about creating 250,000 jobs…a number which nearly everyone thought was far more than simply optimistic. If you are going to make those types of claims and double down with the “it’s working” pep rally cheer, when the results suggest that maybe it isn’t…well, you should expect every minor blip in the numbers to be of interest. So interesting in fact that the governor felt compelled to announce the numbers early during the recall.
Fair point, Ed. As long as things are measured on the whole. Even under the scenario of a healthy and booming economy, some businesses are going to close or relocate for various reasons. I would only hope Obama is held to the same standard. He made some pretty big promises in 2008 and his only answer now is that things would have been worse without him, impossible to prove but all he’s got.
Yes, businesses are constantly closing, moving or reinventing themselves. And you are correct, President Obama has not been able to accomplish many of the things he’s promised. Few presidents (or governors for that matter) do. But I do know his stimilus kept us from sinking deeper into the mire simply by looking at Europe where austerity has pushed them farther from recovery. To me it seems ineffectual simply because it was far too timid.
True enough, campaign promises come and go from every politician under the sun. If Obama had double downed on the stimulus (and thus increased the national debt), I hear he would have only been helping the rich. At least that’s the argument being made in another post on here. My only problem is that we don’t just deficit spend in times like these but all the time. The Social Security, Medicare, and health care bills are coming due not too far down the road. With Obama’s trillion dollar deficits, it might be too much to overcome and ever recover.
Social Security isn’t really an issue…there is a simple fix for that…and it should be rectified and completed and then let us move on to the real bogeymen in the budget, the healthcare issues.
So, we knowingly crash the economy through austerity?
Yes Ed, I suppose the “simple fix” for all of those tough issues are more taxes. But not taxes on you and me of course. Just “the rich.” Like Zach with his cadillac health care plan. In just a few years Medicare and SS overtake the majority of the budget, squeezing out just about everything else.
Do you suggest we knowingly crash the economy by increasing the debt? There’s a limit to that. We run out of money and people to borrow from and then how do ever dig ourselves out? We’re not there yet, but we’re not exactly too far off either.
And don’t forget, increasing the debt only benefits the rich: http://bloggingblue.com/2012/07/04/a-much-better-deal-for-the-rich/
If it’s not “the rich”, it’s the Chinese. We just can’t win. Ha ha