My friend’s family is in a bind. Her mother works the third shift at Walmart and her father was recently laid off from his foundry job. With one child in college and two in grade school, they may have to move to Kentucky where her father can find a position comparable to the one he previously held. Although I know this must be a very difficult time for them, their story could very well be the same as any Wisconsin family right now. As of December 2009, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was 8.3 percent. In Menominee County, that figure is 12.2 percent, which is about the same as the unemployment rate at the beginning of the Great Depression. The questions to ask are: why can’t Wisconsin’s economy hang onto jobs, and what does it mean for the workforce?
Unemployment was low during the ’90s, and the state’s historic low, 2.9 percent, was recorded in 1999. Jobs dropped drastically, however, in conjunction with the recent national financial crisis. Wisconsin employers such as Mercury Marine threatened to move elsewhere, and job stability dropped. Meanwhile, Gov. Jim Doyle, in his recent State of the State speech, celebrated Wisconsin’s new tax incentives for large companies and state expenditure cuts. Although it may be true that state government has scaled back operating costs and offered tax breaks to big businesses, the actions within large companies are too-little-too-late, and new jobs are nowhere to be seen.
Fortunately, with large companies staying in Wisconsin to take advantage of our loose business tax restrictions, some jobs are staying in Wisconsin. But this strategy falls short on other fronts. Getting companies to stay here does not ensure the quality with which their workers are treated, and Doyle admitted “union workers approved painful concessions.” Mercury Marine can now pay a lower wage to new employees and those returning from being laid off. Concessions like these lead to overall lower wages and lost benefits, which is counterproductive to workers’ rights — in fact, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the union associated with Mercury Marine, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Lodge 1947, may file an unfair labor negotiation grievance against the company. As Mark Zillges, local union president said, “I can tell you that no one on the bargaining committee…vote[d] for this.”
Doyle’s tax incentives were useful in the short run — they provided quick jobs — but have not been as effective at providing long-term jobs. Had the bill been more extensive, it probably wouldn’t have snared as many companies into the Wisconsin economy. But at least it would have ensured Wisconsin employees had a good, secure job they could work for the next 30 years. What happens when Mercury Marine is offered a better deal a few years down the line? The company has been struggling with the decision to remain in Wisconsin for quite some time, and though they are here right now, they may not be for much longer.
As for the creation of new jobs, Doyle suggested the state legislature “pass legislation to create a Regional Transit Authority.” Of course, having an updated, reliable transportation system is never a bad idea, and implementing such a system has the potential to create many decent jobs. Doyle fails to mention, however, that so far the proposals for the rapid transit system haven’t gotten past the very expensive planning stage. Although the state has received a funds allocation for the project, an actual high speed train system is a long way off.
Whenever something goes wrong, my grandmother always says, “Well at least we have our health.” But for 22,000 low-income workers — or more — they can’t even say that. Doyle, in support for BadgerCare Plus, said, “We have found practical ways to help hardworking people get basic health care.” Really? With 22,000 people on the waiting list, it hardly seems as if the program is, as Doyle said, “proof of our success.” Wisconsin devotes only 19 percent of its budget to individual aid, and Doyle said the BadgerCare Plus plan had “enrolled 64,000 people in the first few months, but the program had to be capped to stay within our budget.” Maintaining confidence in the scale of the program, Doyle said, “Look, I know that without a job, or even with a low-paying job… [it] isn’t easy. But it is something.” Yet, is “something” really enough?
For the administration, it’s all about figures. But for unemployed Wisconsinites, it’s about their health and their families. Half measures and partial pandering solves very little in the real world, and as Jim Doyle faces the remaining year of his term, Wisconsin faces a platform of Band-Aids and promises. While policy-makers count big companies and railroad dollars, they don’t have to face working the third shift for low pay. They are assured of their healthcare and their job security. But for people like my friend’s parents, the future is a little less certain.
Taylor Nye ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in English, French and Spanish.
