November 1
Unemployed and underemployed constituents of Governor Scott Walker converged on his “small business summit” held at Lambeau Field. The overarching message of the group was that they are fed up with Walker and his ineffective policies when it comes to job creation. For a Governor that was elected based on his promise to create 250,000 jobs, he has an incredibly long way to go. Since Walker has taken office over 45,000 Wisconsinites have lost their jobs in mass layoffs, and several thousand more are working part-time and struggling to make ends meet.
Chanting “where are the jobs,” “jobs not cuts,” and “we are the 99%,” the crowd was vigorous and large. Hundreds of citizens from La Crosse to Green Bay assembled to show their support for a sensible jobs policy. After listening to speakers and the stories of their compatriots, a small delegation went inside to present the Governor with The People’s Blueprint for Good Jobs. The Blueprint is a common sense approach to job creation signed by hundreds of concerned citizens and legislators in Wisconsin.
The Governor, however, was unwilling to meet with the delegation.
After waiting patiently for half and hour, others joined the group from the outside and began chanting “where is Walker?” and “Jobs Now!” At that point, the entire delegation was escorted outside by security. Walker never met with the delegation, making it clear that he would much rather hob knob with his rich supporters than spend time with unemployed constituents calling on him to actually do his job and address the unemployment emergency.
The rally falls on another day of special jobs legislation which has so far failed to pass any bills pertaining to employment. Instead, the administration is pushing forward a myriad of special interest pet projects like sex-education, tort reform, and lawsuit protection for drug makers.
Hopefully, someday, the Governor will learn that covering your eyes, waving your hands, and reciting the incantation “jobs, deregulation, cut, cut, cut…” has the opposite effect he was taught. Instead of creating jobs and increasing prosperity, it kills them, concentrates money at the top, and makes everyone’s life worse.
