Fitzwalkerstan Implosion

The past week brings even more reasons to back the recall of Scott Walker in Wisconsin. First the effects on education from "The Wisconsin State Journal": "Wisconsin shed about 3,400 education positions this year, triple the number from last year. At least one-third of the state's districts increased elementary class sizes. And at least four in 10 districts are using one-time federal stimulus funds to balance their budgets. And then there is the cutting of 65,000 folks from Wisconsin Medicaid. Where do they think these people are going for healthcare at the 11th hour? Here the normally rabid Journal Sentinel sounds reasonable: "BadgerCare is a Wisconsin success story that guarantees health security for more than 775,000 people. Despite its popularity, the program is on the chopping block as the Walker administration implements $554 million in budget cuts to Wisconsin's Medicaid program." And of course is the latest job loss figures: "Wisconsin lost an estimated 9,300 private-sector jobs in October in the state's fourth consecutive month of job declines, according to the state Department of Workforce Development. Losses covered a wide swath of the state's slow-moving economy - from manufacturing to health care and financial services to retail trade. The only sector with a significant increase came in leisure and hospitality trades, such as restaurants and hotels. Abdur Chowdhury, chairman of the economics department at Marquette University in Milwaukee, noted that Wisconsin lost private-sector jobs during the same months that the national economy added private-sector positions, albeit haltingly. At the state level, "the job loss in manufacturing is alarming," Chowdhury said. "At the national level, growth in the manufacturing sector had been driving the recovery. In Wisconsin, despite the presence of a significant manufacturing sector, the job loss doesn't bode well for the short-term growth of the state economy." Tomorrow Madison: http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/161808/recall-scott-walker-kickoff-rally-set-for-november-19th/