A recent analysis in the New York Times shows that, even as Scott Walker’s Wisconsin tails the nation and the region in job creation, Wisconsin ranks ahead of 33 other states, and the District of Columbia, in corporate welfare payments to business.
In recent dog-and-pony “listening” sessions meant to mask Walker’s jobs failures, Walker and his corporate contributors have clamored for even more payments in what is a supposedly bad business climate-even as they seek hundreds of millions of more in cuts to localities, education and BadgerCare,
In the analysis by the New York Times, roughly 10 percent of Wisconsin’s budget, or $1.53 billion, is spent on incentives for businesses, or roughly $270 per capita. This puts Wisconsin ahead of Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota, all of which have outpaced Wisconsin in job creation.
The crown jewel in Scott Walker’s disastrous job creation plans was the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, which recently announced it had lost track of $56 million in loans and acknowledged it was poorly-equipped to the task.
“Other than pure gimmickry, doling out corporate welfare seems to be Scott Walker’s only idea when it comes to jobs creation and clearly it hasn’t worked,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said Monday. “Wisconsin taxpayers want jobs and a return on their investment-not a Walker agenda that shovels money into the pockets of corporate special interests.”
