History shows that "special session," Walker's aims, aren't concerned with jobs
In 2010, when Republicans were trying to win a midterm election campaign in Wisconsin, including a gubernatorial seat that had opened up, the focus of their campaigns were clear: "JOBS! JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!"Then they won. And that focus...changed a bit.
It started small -- in the form of tax cuts for corporations in the millions of dollars (OK, that's not really small). The promise was that these cuts would inspire businesses in the state to 1) hire more people and increase employment (with increased capital that these corporations would gain assisting in some way) and 2) for businesses out of the state to be lured to come to Wisconsin. Unfortunately, that didn't really happen, and Wisconsin ended up having a loss in employment numbers.
But that wasn't so bad: the focus was still there, right? Instead of "JOBS! JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!" the focus was simply altered slightly, to "TAX CUTS! JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!"
That may have been fine, except that it wasn't the ending of this "little" shift. An attack on workers' rights took center stage shortly thereafter, and the focus was lost for a long period of time.
Still, the focus was just slightly off-course: it became "TAX CUTS! DESTROY THE UNIONS!" Then, "JOBS! JOBS!" The promise of more employment opportunities in our state was still attainable, if just modified.
And yet, no job bills came. A budget was passed which included the largest cuts to education the state had ever seen, amounting to a billion-dollar shortfall for schools across the state. New caps to Family Care (a program designed to help elderly and disabled Wisconsinites), nearly half a billion in cuts to BadgerCare, and more tax breaks to the wealthy and corporate elite were all included in the values-changing budget proposal by Gov. Walker, eventually passing and receiving his signature earlier this summer.
So where were our priorities then? Clearly, the "jobs" mantra had disappeared entirely. It was replaced with "TAX CUTS! DEFUND EDUCATION! DESTROY THE UNIONS! MORE TAX CUTS! SCREW THE ELDERLY!"
Oh, and we musn't forget guns and voter suppression.
But then, lo and behold! Gov. Walker came to the "rescue" again! After a September where Republican lawmakers decided they only needed to schedule one day of actual work, the governor held a "special session" to jump-start the call for "JOBS! JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!" once more.
Except...we're falling into the same pattern again. There's the bill that would repeal the need to teach children a comprehensive lesson on sexual education. Another group of lawmakers feel there is a greater need in criticizing Madison police for doing their jobs during protests earlier this year. 16 of the bills in the special session appear to reward special interests that are allied with Republican lawmakers (read: their supporters/donors). Tort reform, which in no way would create any jobs whatsoever, is among those billed as part of the session.
The best part? The special session is set to start October 18...the same day the legislature was set to start its regular session anyway. Suddenly, this session doesn't seem so "special," does it?
What we need to realize about the Republicans in our state is that "jobs" were never their primary focus. Even in a special session dedicated towards job growth, it's not their true aim. Gov. Walker and his Republican allies aren't pushing for "JOBS! JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!" any more than they were the first time they said it, nearly ten months ago.
Giveaways for the rich and the corporate elite, "pet" conservative projects, and rewards for donors in particular are all that Walker has ever and WILL ever push for. The end result is that nothing from our state, nothing from our Republican-controlled government, will ever be focused on "jobs" while Scott Walker is our governor.
Wisconsin is open for business, all right: it's conservative-led government is for sale to the highest bidder. And all that talk about jobs? It's only talk.