When Scott Walker finally announced that he was officially hopping in the GOP clown car, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued a curt but complete statement regarding Walker's candidacy:
"Scott Walker is a national disgrace"
This set off the panel of Fox's Cashin' In - Eric Bolling, Jessica Tarlov, Jonathan Hoenig, Juan Williams, Michelle Fields, and Wayne Rogers - squawking like a bunch of wet hens (see video above).
This collection of IQ-draining fools claimed that thanks to Walker's attacks on the unions - especially the public sector unions - helped Walker turn a deficit into a surplus, helped him create a fiscally sound budget and made Wisconsin into a worker's Shangri-La.
The reality, as the gentle reader can imagine, is quite different.
What Walker did in his attacks on the unions is take the money out of the workers' pockets and put it in the offshore bank accounts of wealthy corporations and CEOs.
The results of taking all of these billions of dollars out of the hands of the people and out of the economy were as predictable as they are dismaying:
- The supposed surplus is actually a $2 billion deficit
- To make up for the budget shortfall, Walker has stopped making debt payments It should be noted that even with not paying the bills, the state is still coming up short..
- Wisconsin is dead last in the nation for new business start ups because no one as the money to start a business, much less keep it going
- Walker's Wisconsin has dropped to 40th for job creation. On the other hand, Wisconsin is number one in jobs lost in March of this year.
- Walker's Wisconsin has also seen the largest drop in family incomes. So it should be no surprise that Wisconsin also leads in the largest decline of the middle class.
Walker's piss poor performance is really highlighted when shown in contrast to how well Minnesota, which respects its workers and unions, is doing. The difference is so stark that papers all across the state - from La Crosse to very conservative Appleton - is bemoaning Walker's undeniable failure.
I could go on about how the loss of good public sector workers are also causing a ripple effect of bad, such as delays in services for those who need it, unsafe public buildings that are not being properly maintained and the higher costs of training new employees who leave in short order for more lucrative fields, like McDonalds or Walmart.
The really bad news is that the worst is yet to come. Walker has passed the Wage Theft Law (aka Right To Work or Right to Woe) and repealed the Prevailing Wage Law, meaning that private sector workers are going to see another big drop in their wages, if they are lucky enough to keep their jobs in the worsening economy.