Tag: Scott Walker

GOP’s Wisconsin Foxconn has exploded — with zero manufacturing jobs and a $400 million deficit

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From the beginning, the Republican-promoted, Trump-boasting, former Gov. Scott Walker-lying Foxconn deal with Wisconsin sounded like a mega-scam. It was clear to anyone with a reading level above elementary school that the “incentives” used to bring the Taiwanese electronics giant into the Badger State were so much more lucrative than anything Foxconn could provide in economic stimulus. The math didn’t add up. In fact, some estimates put the timeframe it would take Wisconsin to get out of the red on the deal at … 25 years.

Then, over the course of the next few weeks and months and years, it became clear that Foxconn wasn’t going to do any of the things it said it might do, because frankly, it didn’t have to do them to get that sweet Wisconsin taxpayer money. Invisible hand of the market and all that. This left lots of vacant space where Trump and then Gov.-Scott Walker took gold-shoveled photos at. Most of 2019 was spent with Wisconsin officials, having been left holding the bag of bunk that newly un-elected Scott Walker created, trying to renegotiate with Foxconn. Something that Foxconn officials, having experienced the pathetic dealmaking of the previous Republican administration, seem most interested in delaying. Possibly in the hope of finding another set of GOP marks with which to renegotiate.

Then on Oct. 12, The Verge reported that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) denied Foxconn’s application for tax subsidies. The argument is that Foxconn hasn’t even built anything that was originally agreed upon. Continue reading.

Wisconsin GOP’s power grab is a danger to democracy

Credit: Captiol100th.Wisconsin.gov

In Wisconsin, Democratic candidates won the 2018 elections for governor and attorney general.

But the Republican-controlled legislature quickly introduced and passed lame-duck legislation that takes power away from these incoming officeholders and hands it to the state legislature, which will remain in GOP control.

Outgoing Republican Governor Scott Walker is expected to sign these bills into law, but as of this writing has not yet done so.

View the complete article by Christopher Beem, Managing Director of the McCortney Institute of Democracy, Pennsylvania State University here.

Editorial Boards Cry Foul on Republicans’ Power Grab in Wisconsin and Michigan

Editorials across the nation are calling for Republicans to stop their lame-duck madness and to respect the rules of democracy. In rushed last-minute sessions — sometimes at night — Republicans have pushed through legislation that only promotes their own interests instead of those whom they were elected to serve. Editorial boards agree the people of Wisconsin and Michigan deserve leaders who will work together to solve problems and create opportunities, not more of the same political games. Read for yourself:

MLive: “Michigan’s legislators need to immediately stop pushing these types of bills through a lame duck session and allow those Michigan voters are sending to office have a voice. And Gov. Rick Snyder needs to do the right thing and not sign these into law.”

Lansing State Journal: “This behavior is unacceptable. Regardless of where people stand on issues, bullying through controversial legislation in a lame duck session is not the appropriate way to legislate.”

Continue reading “Editorial Boards Cry Foul on Republicans’ Power Grab in Wisconsin and Michigan”

Scott Walker’s handpicked candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court loses in a landslide

The following article by Josh Israel was posted on the ThinkProgress website April 4, 2018:

Walker’s candidate and a scheme to eliminate the State Treasurer both lost by double digits.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice-Elect Rebecca Dallet Credit: Dallet’s Twitter Feed

Wisconsin voters sent a strong message to Gov. Scott Walker (R) and the National Rifle Association on Tuesday, electing liberal Rebecca Dallet to an open seat on the state’s Supreme Court.

Dallet defeated a Walker-appointed and NRA-endorsed judge, Republican-backed conservative Michael Screnock, by a surprisingly lopsided 56 percent to 44 percent majority. Her win narrows the pro-Walker conservative majority on the court to 4 to 3 — and marks the first win by a liberal to an open seat since 1995. Continue reading “Scott Walker’s handpicked candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court loses in a landslide”

Wisconsin plans to drug test Medicaid recipients. Here’s why it’ll be a disaster.

The following article by Amanda Michelle Gomez was posted on the ThinkProgress website March 7, 2018:

WEST BEND, WI – AUGUST 16: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker introduces Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump as he gets ready to speak at a rally on August 16, 2016 in West Bend, Wisconsin. (Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images)

Over the past several months, Wisconsin lawmakers have waged a war on the state’s Medicaid program by requesting federal permission to add time-limits, work rules, and drug tests. But new data obtained by ThinkProgress suggests these drug tests are especially costly and virtually ineffective at enabling care. And if the Trump administration green-lights Wisconsin’s request, taxpayers will have to pay for it.

Requiring people who depend on government benefits to pee in a cup isn’t without precedent. At least 15 states, including Wisconsin, drug screen or test public assistance applicants. For three straight years, ThinkProgress collected state data on drug screening and learned that it’s expensive and yields few drug positive tests. This isn’t surprising, as a federal analysis on substance use among government assistance enrollees suggests abuse rates are only somewhat higher than general public. (Studies that report substance abuse rates higher than 15 percent define it to include a broader scope of alcohol and any illicit drug use within the past year rather than past month.) Continue reading “Wisconsin plans to drug test Medicaid recipients. Here’s why it’ll be a disaster.”

Anti-worker Republicans take a page from Wisconsin playbook

The following column by Ken Martin, DFL Party Chair, was released October 27, 2017:

Credit: cspan.org

Our neighboring state of Wisconsin was thrust into the national spotlight in 2010 when Gov. Scott Walker staged an all-out assault on labor unions. Despite protestors flooding the Capitol for nearly three weeks, Walker signed a bill to dramatically curtail collective bargaining rights for public employees.With no power to effectively bargain over workplace rules or salaries, union membership in Wisconsin has dropped by a staggering 40 percent.

Workers in Minnesota have watched what’s happening across the border with grave concern. That concern was unfortunately validated earlier this month when a state legislative panel voted to reject a new contract for nearly 30,000 state employees. The workers belong to Minnesota’s two largest public employee unions, AFSCME and Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE). The proposed contract included modest pay increases, improved health coverage, and expanded benefits. Continue reading “Anti-worker Republicans take a page from Wisconsin playbook”

Will Foxconn’s Manufacturing Promises in Wisconsin Prove to Be a Con?

The following article by Andrew Schwartz was posted on the Center for American Progress website August 4, 2017:

Credit: Jeramey Jannene.

On July 26, President Donald Trump announced that Foxconn Technology Group, the Taiwanese manufacturing giant, will establish an LCD screen production facility at an undetermined location in southeastern Wisconsin. Foxconn—best known for producing iPhones, Kindles, and other consumer electronics devices—claims that it will invest $10 billion in Wisconsin, as well as bring 3,000 to 13,000 new jobs.

The buildup to the president’s announcement, however, seems to have happened largely outside his purview, with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) taking the lead. Despite other suitors, including states such as Texas, Ohio, and Michigan, a courtship quickly developed with Wisconsin this spring as Gov. Walker enticed Foxconn to choose his state. Continue reading “Will Foxconn’s Manufacturing Promises in Wisconsin Prove to Be a Con?”