An Economy Moving Forward Again The Flynn Plan to Increase Jobs and Wages in Wisconsin By now, the slow growth of jobs and wages during the seven years of the Walker Administration has wreaked enough hardship that the patience of Wisconsin voters has worn thin. When he ran for office in 2010, as the nation was slowly recovering from the Great Recession, he declared Wisconsin was in a state of emergency. Eight years later, the nation has recovered, but Wisconsin is lagging behind. Because of the counter-productive supply-side economics he has implemented, our economy continues to seriously underperform the nation and our potential. The following plan identifies Walker s economic failures and the policy changes I will adopt to lead Wisconsin Forward again. Jobs What s Not Working In 2010, candidate Scott Walker said he would add a minimum acceptable number of 250,000 good-paying, family-supporting jobs by the end of 2014. As of the start of 2018, that pledge is still unmet. If we had grown jobs at the national average rate, we would have those 250,000 jobs and more by now. Even when Wisconsin reaches that 250,000 jobs 2014 target, Walker s wage suppression policies ensure that wages are kept low. Wage Growth Since Walker took office, there has been little net creation of jobs paying $12.50 an hour or more. At 40 hours per week, the net job creation under Walker is jobs paying less than $26,000 annually.
At the start of 2018, median wages adjusted for inflation are lower under Walker than they were under Governor Jim Doyle. Meanwhile, family median income in Minnesota today is nearly $5,000 higher than ours. Most of our job growth has been in low-wage jobs with precarious employment. Unemployment Even though the Great Recession hammered Wisconsin, the state was coming back strong before Governor Walker took office. Walker inherited an unemployment rate well below the national average. Unfortunately, outmigration brain drain is one reason for the low unemployment rate. In all demographic working-age groups, talent is leaving Wisconsin. Our fellow Wisconsinites are voting with their feet and moving for better opportunities elsewhere. Wisconsin was recently ranked 10th in the nation for outmigration. New Business Startups According to the Kaufman Index, Wisconsin ranks dead last (50th of 50 states) nationally in new business start-ups. Walker claimed his tax policies would launch a torrent of new business creation. Instead, the new business start-ups are happening in Minnesota, where leaders created a public investment-led renaissance in its people and infrastructure. Economic Development Walker s theory of economic development is to cut taxes on the rich and hope they invest in new enterprises, adding jobs. It s called trickle-down economics and we know it doesn t work.
In desperation, ahead of the 2018 election, Walker is attempting to give the appearance of improving his record on job creation by spending roughly $4.5 billion of Wisconsin taxpayer money to bring Foxconn to Racine County. Of that giant sum, about $1.6 billion has no direct relation to job creation. Another $1.4 billion will be spent if Foxconn creates just 65% of the jobs they promised. Foxconn has a track record. It is an unreliable employer, notorious for paying low wages, providing dangerous and demoralizing working conditions, failing to keep commitments to governments, and trashing the environment, resulting in expensive cleanup costs. The location agreed upon is so close to Illinois that the promised jobs are within an easy commute for Illinois workers. Federal Resources To enhance his presidential ambitions, Walker demonstrated his twisted view of conservative credentials. Walker rejected well over $1.5 billion in federal funds that would have gone toward Medicaid expansion and rail service. He also initially turned down funding for high-speed Internet in rural Wisconsin. All of these investments would have helped people and businesses increase their competitiveness and create jobs with good wages. He rejected the return of our own federal taxes to Wisconsin. Instead, these Wisconsin tax dollars will now be invested in the economies of other states to foster their job growth, higher wages, and new businesses.
Moving Wisconsin s Economy Forward Again As governor, I will operate with a different management style, based on gathering expertise, rigorous analysis, and facts not driven by ideology or sycophancy toward the donor class. My approach will be pragmatic and employ best practices from across the country and around the globe. I will remain open to new ideas and I will not hesitate to jettison a policy that turns out to be ineffective. Nor will I hesitate to imitate a policy that was found to be effective elsewhere. We must end Scott Walker s race to the bottom. Public investment in education and in the state s roads and transit systems will drive up wages and increase new business start-ups, just like in Minnesota. Our policies will raise wages, enhance economic development, and lower the cost of leading a good life in Wisconsin, for all its citizens. As governor, I intend to: 1. Scrap the anti-investment ideology of austerity and supply-side economics. This was the economic ideology of the Walker years and it failed. 2. Seek federal funding for job-creating infrastructure projects including roads, rail, public transportation, and high-speed Internet throughout the state. Those dollars will then circulate within Wisconsin to stimulate demand. 3. Increase the minimum wage in Wisconsin to $15 per hour. 4. Create a fairer, more progressive tax structure, rather than rewarding a small number of Wisconsinites for already being rich. 5. Reverse the wage-killing policies of the Walker Administration, including Act 10 and Right-to-Work, and restore Prevailing Wage.
6. Increase funding for K-12 schools and institutions of higher learning. To this end, I will ensure that up to two years at Wisconsin s public universities, colleges, or technical schools will be tuition free for in-state residents. This education is key to preparing the talented workforce that employers need. 7. Create a Wisconsin Student Loan Authority to guarantee student loans at Wisconsin colleges and universities, based on the best practices of existing student loan authorities across the country. The Authority will promote the re-financing of student loan debt when interest rates go down. This will allow young workers to put more money back into our state s economy, rather than the pockets of lenders. 8. Recommit to the Wisconsin Idea by restoring the funding the University of Wisconsin System needs to continue preparing the skilled research and talented graduates that high-tech employers demand. These are the fields that will provide jobs in the labor market of tomorrow. I will restore statutory tenure in order to protect the integrity of research. 9. Upgrade our transportation system to improve productivity. I will invest in roads and mass transit. I will restore local control of transportation. 10. Allow communities to create municipal broadband districts, preserving Net Neutrality and expanding high-speed broadband Internet access in every county throughout Wisconsin. This will encourage entrepreneurship, level the barriers to participation in the economy for small businesses, build up Wisconsin's technology community to provide a competitive alternative to corporate telecom giants, and increase the efficiency of state and municipal services. 11. Use litigation to stop the disastrous Foxconn fiasco. Foxconn can come here, but they will not get our tax dollars and they will have to obey our laws.
12. Eliminate the manufacturing and agricultural tax credit, which has no requirements for additional employment, and invest those funds in healthcare, education, and infrastructure that are essential to growing jobs and wages. 13. I will support a BadgerCare for All public insurance option so workers without employer insurance can purchase a good policy at an affordable premium. 14. Return control of economic development to our cities, freeing them from the We Know Best controls imposed by Republicans in Madison. Locally elected leaders and voters in our cities and towns need control of transportation and school funding. 15. Replace the corrupt Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) with a restored Department of Commerce that makes honest loans by honest standards, without regard to political contributions. 16. Provide financial support for small business expansion by working with local financial institutions and other government programs. This will help employers that are good operators but lack the capital to grow their business. For example, an HVAC company with one truck may have the demand to run two more trucks but not the equity to support a bank loan. Conclusion This race is a clear contrast between Republican economics based on tax cuts for the wealthy, and Democratic policies of growth and wage enhancement. Almost eight years of Republican rule has resulted in stagnant wages and stagnant growth. It s time for a change.