“Why should I care about politics if they do not affect me anyway?” Every year without fail, this statement is heard from dozens of students at the University of Wisconsin. Most of the effects of politics do not touch us until we graduate, so we do not have to worry about them, right?
For those who ask that question, another must follow it: Why did you go to college? Predictably, the answer would be to get a better job post-graduation, a goal that would be easier to accomplish in a future strong job market. Since job numbers are closely linked to politics, we should probably start caring about politics pre-graduation. Then we need to ask ourselves, which candidate for governor will give us the best chance of having strong job prospects in the future? Well, let’s look at the numbers.
When Gov. Scott Walker took office in January 2011, the unemployment rate was at 7.7 percent. Since then, Wisconsin unemployment has continuously fallen year after year. In August 2014, the unemployment rate reached a low of 5.6 percent, which was significantly lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.9 percent. In other words, the Walker administration created more than 100,000 jobs during his first term in office. Additionally, Walker has cut taxes significantly, which should make Wisconsin a more attractive location for business and jobs. As a result, 96 percent of Wisconsin employers believe Wisconsin is heading in the right direction. Without a doubt, Walker knows how to create jobs, and he will continue do so in the future.
Despite these promising job creation numbers, Walker did not reach his goal of 250,000 new jobs created. However, that should not deter voters from choosing Walker. To explain why, let’s take a look at the Packers. Every single year, the Packers, along with every other professional football team, set the goal of winning a Super Bowl. Despite this, the Packers often fall short of this goal, and get knocked off in the playoffs. Does this mean that we should instantly fire Aaron Rodgers and start Matt Flynn? No, obviously it does not! Yes, Walker may not have reached his original goal, but he still was very successful.
Now, let’s look at that the other side of the coin. While Mary Burke was the Secretary of Commerce in the Doyle administration from 2005 to 2007, jobs never seemed to be a priority. During this time period, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate climbed above the national unemployment rate for the first time in 25 years. Additionally, during this time period, Wisconsin ranked 42nd in job growth and 47th in business growth. Clearly, Burke has not had a lot of experience with job creation, but she has a lot of experience doing the opposite.
Not only does Burke have a bad record when it comes to jobs, but she also likes to use deception and misdirection to make up for her shortcomings. In one of her recent ads, Burke tries to make the claim that job growth has gotten worse every single year under Walker’s administration. Additionally, she recently claimed that Wisconsin has fallen to dead last in Midwest job growth. Despite this, PolitiFact called her out for these two misleading statements and rated them both false. Also, Burke’s campaign plagiarized her jobs plan, so one can plainly see that Burke will do anything to win this election even if it is dishonest.
Looking at the numbers, the choice is simple for Wisconsin voters. They can either choose a proven job creator or a dishonest politician, who knows nothing about job creation. Numbers do not lie, and this is why the choice is easy: re-elect Walker.
