On job creation, "CEO Walker" would be fired

Governor's dismal performance warrants removal from his own job

I don't really care much for business analogies when it comes to politics. The belief that an executive of a company and the leaders representing us in public office face any of the same challenges is one I typically reject.

That said, is there any doubt that Gov. Scott Walker, based on his job creation performance as chief executive of our state, wouldn't be fired by now if he was singled out for our governor's terrible showing in his first year or so of "leading."

This is a governor who, after all, made jobs his number one priority during the campaign, pledging to bring more than 250,000 to the state in his first term in office. Since that time, we've instead gone backwards and away from that goal, despite two pseudo-job creation sessions Walker and his Republican allies in the legislature propped up. These sessions, however, focused primarily on tax breaks and tort reform, changes that do little-to-nothing for job creation in the state.

Rather than take responsibility for his sluggish performance, Walker has tried to place the blame elsewhere, citing everything from the national debt ceiling debate, President Barack Obama's health care law, and even to his critics, the protesters, themselves.

For Truman, "the buck" stopped with him; for Walker, it's everyone else's fault but his own.

Despite the debt ceiling affecting every state in the nation; despite the president's health care plan similarly being a national project; and despite Occupy protests occurring in other states across the country, Wisconsin was the only one to have significant job losses, more than seven times its nearest rival and more than three times every state that had net losses COMBINED.

Walker can try to sugarcoat it all he wants. He can make malicious claims about the number of jobs lost by his predecessor, omitting the fact that Wisconsin was hit hard by a global economic recession at that time (click image at right to enlarge). He can blame protesters all he wants as well, leaving out how exactly citizens participating in their democracy directly affects job numbers. He can even place the blame on the president to his heart's content, neglecting to mention that Obama's reforms led to 25 straight months of job creation at the national level.

But facts are facts, and the bottom line is, in spite of Wisconsin being on the path to recovery before he took office, Walker has failed to create (or even maintain) the economic conditions necessary for continued job growth. If he were running a company, based on his performance on jobs alone he'd surely be fired.

On June 5, we have the chance to give him the pink slip ourselves.