Scott Walker is running for president. Are we
shocked? Probably not. What is shocking, is that after his track record running
Wisconsin this man thinks he should be left in charge of the entire country. It
might have something to do with the Koch confidence boost he’s been given. His last name might not be Bush, but that doesn’t mean that rich,
white dudes (e.g., Charles and David Koch) won’t dictate his every move in a
throwback to the Bush-Cheney years.
Now we could sit here and tell you what a jerk he is (who has
that kind of time?), but instead we want to show you the negative effects Scott
Walker has had on Wisconsin, and who’s paying the price for it.
To make this story even more interesting,
let’s compare Scott Walker’s Wisconsin with its next-door neighbor Minnesota. It’s a tale
of two states: Both economies grew from foundations in manufacturing, farming
and mining, with strong histories of organized labor. Then came the 2010
elections. Both states, still reeling from the recession, elected new
governors. Those two governors took these two states down two very different
paths. No need to keep score at home, we’ll do that for you.
Today, Minnesota’s unemployment rate is 3.6 percent—far below the national rate of 5.7 percent—while Wisconsin’s
job growth has been among the worst in the region and its income growth has been among the worst in the
nation. Also, when Scott
Walker said, “We showed that when we say ‘Wisconsin is open for business,’
we mean it,” the operative word was show.
Last we checked, as soon as Wisconsin passed “right to work,” this 100-year-old Wisconsin company decided to move to Minnesota.
We’ve got news for you, Scott Walker: Trickle-down
economics doesn’t work for the majority of us, and
frankly, it never has—it’s
only great for rich people. We
want a healthy middle class, and we need a different approach that begins with
a high-quality public education that gives future generations the skills they
need to get good jobs with fair wages, helping everyone climb the ladder of
opportunity. And you say you want that too:
What has
made America amazing has been the fact that throughout our history, throughout
the more than 200 years of our history, there have been men and women of
courage who stood up and decided it was more important to look out for the
future of their children and their grandchildren than their own political
futures.
The AFT is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for our students, their families and our communities. We are...