Scott Walker’s Record on Jobs & the Economy

 On Sunday Donald Trump, via tweet, endorsed a boycott of Wisconsin’s iconic motorcycle manufacturer, Harley-Davidson. Gov. Scott Walker has not responded directly when asked about his views on Trump’s boycott.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/13/2018]

Walker’s campaign has booked $2.3 million in television ads across the state between May and mid-August, according to research by liberal group One Wisconsin Now.

[Associated Press, 07/31/2018]

“Scott Walker is so angry about his tanking poll numbers, he forgot he is the only candidate for governor who got his photo taken with an indicted Russian spy,” Scot Ross of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now said by email. 

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 07/31/2018]

One Wisconsin Now reports that more Foxconn contracts are being awarded to Walker campaign donors.

[the Political Environment, 07/31/2018]

The question of the 2018 election season is: how much Foxconn money is pouring into the outside groups who will be supporting Scott Walker and attacking his opponent?

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/25/2018]

A review of campaign finance records reveals companies with connections to Gov. Scott Walker’s political campaigns continue to be awarded contracts as part of the $4.5 billion taxpayer-subsidized Foxconn project in Southeastern Wisconsin. According to reports and reviews of campaign finance information, individuals associated with companies receiving contracts announced today have donated over $44,000 to Scott Walker.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/24/2018]

Walker told reporters earlier Thursday evening that he wouldn’t watch the debate. Instead, he planned to have dinner with his wife, First Lady Tonette Walker. “Not only are the eight candidates moving further and further to the left, but I also think you’ll hear a lot of the same anger and hatred directed at me and other Republicans,” Walker said. Evers was the only candidate not to stop by the spin room after the debate.

[WITI-TV, 07/12/2018]

With their frail attempt, the federal lawmakers are bringing up the rear in making sure Lake and Cook county communities in the Des Plaines River watershed downstream from the Foxconn site are protected from the potential of increased flooding. The Lake County Board and Gurnee officials, among others, earlier went on record questioning the wisdom of Wisconsin officials giving the electronics giant carte blanche on environmental regulations. … With the scope of the Foxconn project, everybody within a 30-mile radius of the location will be impacted some way or another, either by runoff or pollution from thousands of vehicles — some of which will undoubtedly be from Lake County — crowding onto Interstate 94 heading to the plant for work. That’s the way American enterprise works. Along with doling out billions in tax breaks to land the development, Wisconsin already has given Foxconn the OK to fill in some 26 acres of wetlands. That means water normally sopped up by the wetlands has to go to another location, either in retention ponds or downstream. It gives additional meaning to draining the swamp. … With that much at stake, as we are seeing, Foxconn is a done deal for Wisconsin. Elected officials in Illinois and Lake County might whine over the project, but only Wisconsin residents can guarantee their state’s history of clean water and air regulations isn’t bulldozed for future generations.

[Chicago Tribune, 07/11/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker hinted Wednesday to Chippewa Valley business and government leaders that Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn may announce some type of investment in Eau Claire in the next couple of weeks. The governor dropped what he called the “tease” during a speech at an Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at The Florian Gardens. He mentioned the potential announcement after making the case that Foxconn Technology Group, which is building a massive $10 billion manufacturing plant in southeastern Wisconsin that it promises will employ 13,000 workers, will provide a tremendous boost to Wisconsin’s economy. State and local governments have pledged about $4 billion in subsidies for the first phase of the project.

[Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, 07/11/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker is taking a hands-off approach to the dispute between President Donald Trump and Harley-Davidson over trade policy, saying that Harley executives haven’t asked him for help. Walker’s refusal to take sides differs from his fellow Wisconsin Republicans, most notably U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson. Johnson questioned the president’s ability to “fully understand” how his newly imposed tariffs could hurt global manufacturing companies. … “I talked to Harley folks the other day. I’ve always been a supporter of them, they haven’t asked me to do anything,” Walker said. … “I don’t know that anybody is gonna tell him one way or another what to do on tweeting on any subject,” Walker said, when asked if the president was right to tweet threats.

[WITI-TV, 07/04/2018]

It is not just critics of Trump and Walker who are raising the alarm. The Wall Street Journal headlined its report last week with an ominous announcement: “As Foxconn Breaks Ground in Wisconsin, the Costs to Taxpayers Go Up.” Walker’s apologists are still defending the deal as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to enter Wisconsin into the world’s high-tech economy” and — in the words of a breathless statement from the Republican Party of Walker, er, Wisconsin — an “opportunity to completely transform our state’s economy.”

[Capital Times, 07/03/2018]

The change came because the larger glass panels cannot be transported long distances and Foxconn had hoped to have a Corning factory, which manufactures the glass panels, co-locate at the Foxconn site. But officials at New York-based Corning Inc. made clear they’d need a subsidy for as much as two-thirds of the cost of this facility and officials with the Walker administration said they could not give any more subsidies. The implications of this change are enormous. For starters it means Foxconn will not be building the kind of factory it first promised to the delegation lead by Gov. Walker last year and which helped sell the huge taxpayer subsidy: Walker was shown the plant run by Foxconn subsidiary Sharp in Japan, which manufactures the large screens.

[Urban Milwaukee, 07/03/2018]

With nothing but the barest bones of the former St. Croix Meadows Dog Track behind them, Gov. Scott Walker joined developers and local representatives Tuesday, July 3, to recognize a $500,000 redevelopment grant for the site. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s idle sites grant, accepted by the Hudson Common Council in May, will help fund demolition, including the complete tear-down of the old building. Walker said the grant is designed for projects like this site, which has sat vacant since the dog track closed in 2001. “You’ve got all this growth, you’ve got all this excitement, you’ve got all this new development and then you had this site that was sitting idle,” Walker said. The grant is used sparingly, Walker said, with only four in total this year.

[Hudson Star Observer, 07/03/2018]

Protesters, including activists affiliated with NextGen Wisconsin, Gaia Coalition Network, and One Wisconsin Now, continued demonstrating throughout the afternoon. [Wisconsin Gazette, 06/29/2018]

I spoke with Analiese Eicher, One Wisconsin Now’s Program Director, who created the custom condoms on our website. Analiese told me about the plant, the implications it has on Wisconsin’s economy, and her reaction to the blowback her condoms created in the local news. [Medium, 06/28/2018]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s full-throttled love of Harley-Davidson motorcycles has been intertwined with his rising political career, but now he must navigate revved up criticism of the Milwaukee-based company from President Donald Trump… Walker has avoided directly criticizing Trump on the issue, repeatedly saying instead that no tariffs would be good for Wisconsin manufacturers and farmers. He hasn’t spelled out what he would do to further that policy and his spokeswoman repeated that same position Tuesday when asked to react to Trump’s tweets. “Governor Walker believes there should be no tariffs or trade barriers as the President stated earlier this month at the G7 summit,” Walker spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg said. “When there’s a level playing field, American workers and businesses win.”

[Wisconsin State Journal, 06/27/2018]

"Donald Trump caused this crisis and career politician Scott Walker is too intimidated to call him out," said One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. "Donald Trump is even publicly insulting Harley, but Scott Walker is so afraid of getting a Trump rage tweet that he won’t even stand up for a Wisconsin business." [Wisconsin Public Radio, 06/26/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker will be doing another taxpayer-funded campaign fly around, while refusing to criticize Donald Trump for tariffs that Milwaukee’s Harley Davidson says will result in it moving production of the iconic brand overseas. Walker’s latest stop will be in Appleton, once again placing him in the Green Bay media market, where his Republicans have been consistently losing since Trump’s inauguration.

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/26/2018]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker repeatedly evaded questions about federal immigration policy Monday, arguing it falls outside his jurisdiction. At the same time, he pushed for an end to international tariffs on products made in the United States. Walker justified his unwillingness to wade into one federal issue while speaking out on another by arguing tariffs “directly impact … the businesses in the state of Wisconsin.” Questions about both issues came as Walker visited the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Dairy Research to highlight an initiative to support dairy manufacturers as part of the state’s second annual Wisconsin Cheese Day. “The more cheese consumption goes up around the world, the better it is not only for our cheesemakers in the state, but for our dairy farmers and everyone else involved in the dairy process,” Walker said. Wisconsin cheesemakers and dairy farmers have voiced concerns as Canada, Mexico and other countries respond to President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs by imposing tariffs on products made in the United States… Walker said one way to mitigate the effects of trade disputes on Wisconsin businesses is to encourage foreign companies to invest in states like Wisconsin. Walker said he discussed that last week during a U.S. Department of Commerce summit in Washington, D.C. “The ultimate goal, if we can get there, would be no tariffs, or if anything, few tariffs on anything,” Walker told reporters. “That’s what I’m going to push for, if we can get to a level playing field, then we don’t have this tit for tat on any number of products out there.” In the same series of questions, Walker declined to say whether he supports the president’s call to immediately deport those who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, without due process… Walker said Monday the Wisconsin troops will have “no interaction with illegal immigrants, with detainees or people seeking entry into the United States.”… Asked about the Facebook ads, Walker noted that previous presidents of both political parties have used National Guard troops to bolster security at the southern border. He argued people are drawing connections that don’t exist between troop support and federal immigration policy. “I’ve got my hands full with things here in Wisconsin,” Walker said. “That’s my point, is I could comment on every single thing at the federal government, it might be good for the media, for stories, but that’s not what I’m elected to do. I’m elected to lead the state of Wisconsin and focus on the things that need to be done here.” Walker also said he is not aware of any migrant children being sent to Wisconsin.

[Capital Times, 06/25/2018]

In his first seven years in office, Gov. Scott Walker presided over an increase of 213,000 private-sector jobs in Wisconsin, short of the 250,000 new jobs the Republican promised in his first four years. Walker is up for re-election in 2018 and job growth is expected to be a central issue, as it was in his previous races. Wisconsin’s inability to add jobs as quickly as Walker predicted as a candidate in the 2010 general election didn’t stop him from winning an unusual 2012 recall election. Walker also won re-election to a full second term in 2014… When he was a candidate for governor in 2010, Walker promised that if he was elected, the state would add 250,000 private-sector jobs in four years… In a separate statement on Thursday’s data, the Walker administration noted that Wisconsin’s wages have ticked higher.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 06/07/2018]

Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group said Wednesday that it remains committed to its $10 billion Wisconsin manufacturing facility, rejecting a report that it’s considering reducing its initial investment by making display screens for smaller electronics, like phones, rather than large screens for televisions. The Tokyo-based Nikkei Asian Review reported that Foxconn was looking at producing small to medium-sized display panels for Apple, carmakers and others rather than larger display screens, as originally planned. The story cites unnamed sources who were familiar with the plans.

[Chicago Tribune, 05/24/2018]

Foxconn Technology Group has selected a company led by a Republican megadonor with close ties to Gov. Scott Walker to develop the master plan for its massive campus in Wisconsin. Foxconn announced Monday that it chose Hammes Company to be the lead developer on the project that will house a display-screen factory on a campus spread over 2,900 acres.

[WISN-TV, 05/14/2018]

The liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now announced Monday that its preliminary review shows the owners and their families of the newly revealed subcontractors have donated at least $359,000 to Walker’s campaign. [Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, 05/08/2018]

According to state campaign finance records, today’s announcement by Foxconn general contractor M+W Gilbane of subcontractors for their work on the $4.5 billion Wisconsin taxpayer-subsidized project will be lucrative, for donors to Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/07/2018]

Governor Scott Walker said Monday Foxconn leaders are concerned about the possibility of a democratic governor unseating him. This comes days after Foxconn leaders said walker was a big factor in them coming… Foxconn Executive Louis Woo said Wednesday in Milwaukee at an event for Vice President Mike Pence, there’s a major reason they’re coming to build a a facility. “I would argue that there is only basically one reason to start with,” Woo said. “It’s Governor Walker.”… Walker says Foxconn leaders are concerned about the possibility of a democrat in office. “You’ve got politicians saying they’re going to wait for a moment to step on something and throw them out,” Walker said. “I think that’s a really big concern.”

[WDJT-TV, 04/30/2018]

Foxconn’s most significant air pollutants would be volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides, according to documents filed with the state Department of Natural Resources. The state’s air management staff said the factory would increase such pollutants by about 4 percent in Racine County, a figure officials said is manageable, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

[Associated Press, 03/28/2018]

WALKER: “Wisconsin is working ! Workforce levels are at historic highs. The percentage of people working is one of the best in the nation. And the unemployment rate is now down to 2.9% – the lowest in the history of the state”…

THE FACTS: It is true that the state’s unemployment rate, as measured by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, has never been lower…However, the 2.9 percent reported Thursday is preliminary and could be adjusted.

WALKER: “We’ve come a long way since our unemployment rate peaked at 9.3% in 2010. Today, it’s down to 2.9% – the lowest in recorded history. Our reforms are working.”

THE FACTS: Walker accurately points out that Wisconsin’s unemployment rate hit a high of 9.3 percent in December 2010 and takes a shot at Democrats in one of the tweets by noting they were in charge in Wisconsin then. But he doesn’t mention unemployment rates were high then in every state as the entire country was recovering from the Great Recession.

[Associated Press, 03/22/2018]

A tax break package designed to stop giant papermaker Kimberly-Clark from eliminating 600 jobs in northeast Wisconsin appears to be dead in the state Legislature. Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said Tuesday he is hopeful that Gov. Scott Walker’s administration can continue working with the company and possibly take action without needing the Legislature to pass a bill.

[Associated Press, 03/20/2018]

Conservation groups on Wednesday slammed Foxconn Technology Group’s plan to withdraw millions of gallons of water per day from Lake Michigan saying it would violate the intent of a 2008 law aimed at protecting Great Lakes drinking water. The critics said Wisconsin was rushing to approve a plan that threatened to undermine the Great Lakes Compact, which was enacted to protect the region’s drinking water for the public by limiting withdrawals by private interests outside of the lakes drainage basin.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 03/08/2018]

There is also “profound skepticism” about whether a $3 billion tax credit for Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn will benefit local businesses, according to poll director Charles Franklin. After the historic economic development project was announced last year it was described by one Republican as a “grand slam, walk-off home run” for Walker’s re-election prospects, but Democrats have continued to hammer it as a waste of taxpayer dollars that would be better spent on schools and roads. The poll found 38 percent of registered voters say the Foxconn subsidy is worth it compared with 49 percent who say it’s not. Another 13 percent don’t know. [Wisconsin State Journal, 03/06/2018]

Voters think the State of Wisconsin overpaid on the massive Foxconn deal in spite of it bringing benefits to the Milwaukee area, a new poll has found. In the most extensive polling to date on the multibillion dollar deal, the Marquette University Law School poll found that 49% of voters think the Foxconn Technology Group factory won't be worth its cost to taxpayers and 38% think it will. State and local taxpayers have committed billions of dollars in incentives to the Taiwanese company to lure a flat-screen plant and up to 13,000 jobs to Racine County. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 03/05/2018]

In the most extensive polling to date on the multibillion dollar deal, the Marquette University Law School poll found that 49% of voters think the Foxconn Technology Group factory won’t be worth its cost to taxpayers and 38% think it will…Where voters of all stripes agree is on whether Foxconn will benefit local businesses in their area. A majority of voters across political parties and regions of the state – 66% to 25% – don’t think the deal will help their local employers…Voters also have questions about Foxconn’s effects on the environment. Statewide, 62% of those polled were very concerned or somewhat concerned that the Foxconn project will have an impact on water or environmental quality, while 32% were not worried.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 03/05/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker and the state’s business lobby — in a rare break with Republican President Donald Trump — are coming out against Trump’s planned tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, saying they could harm Wisconsin companies, outsource U.S. jobs and spark a global trade war with far-reaching consequences…Walker’s office said the tariffs could affect “multiple sectors and industries” in Wisconsin, including MillerCoors, Harley-Davidson, Neenah-based packaging manufacturer Bemis and Seneca Foods, a food processor and distributor with nine plants in the state.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 03/03/2018]

Electronics manufacturer Foxconn, in talks with state officials last summer, sought a $200 million upfront payment as part of a state incentive package to locate in Wisconsin, newly released public records show. State officials rebuffed that offer, ultimately agreeing on a $3 billion package that provides state incentives only after facility construction and hiring have occurred. [Wisconsin State Journal, 03/02/2018]

In July, a top aide to Gov. Scott Walker privately told colleagues that Wisconsin didn't want to add to the multibillion-dollar subsidies being given to Foxconn Technology Group by offering the same thing to suppliers, new records show. The decision matters because other states could try to snag those suppliers by offering their own incentives to companies looking to work with Foxconn's massive flat-screen plant, which is planned near the Illinois border. It also matters because, in offering what is now $4 billion in state and local subsidies to Foxconn Technology Group of Taiwan, Wisconsin officials have been expecting not just 13,000 direct jobs at the Racine County factory but thousands more indirect jobs at suppliers. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 03/01/2018]

New records show the high stakes contest for Foxconn Technology Group's first North American manufacturing facility came down to a battle between Wisconsin and neighboring Michigan. Records released by Gov. Scott Walker's office shows the Taiwanese company also toured sites in Ohio before Wisconsin won out, thanks to a $3 billion state incentive package. Jim Paetsch, vice president of the Milwaukee 7 economic development group, says in a briefing for a May meeting with Foxconn that Wisconsin and Michigan were finalists for the project. [WBAY-TV, 03/01/2018]

Wisconsin is shifting up to $90 million away from other state highway projects to do road work related to the massive Foxconn factory being built in Racine County. GOP Gov. Scott Walker's administration has said that no other road work has been delayed because the state has tapped savings from other projects that have come in under budget. But a memo from the Legislature's nonpartisan budget office found that, even after accounting for the savings, the state still has $70 million to $90 million less for other road projects after allocating the money to prepare for Foxconn Technology Group. The report also found that the condition of state roads is expected to deteriorate over the next decade. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/28/2018]

A new road project serving the $10 billion Foxconn plant in Racine County could reduce funding for other state roads by as much as $90 million in the current budget, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. The reduction leaves state highway rehabilitation funding as much as $870 million short of the $2.4 billion per biennium the Department of Transportation estimates is needed to maintain road conditions at current levels for the next decade. According to the DOT, 79 percent of state highways were in fair or better condition as of December 2016. Gov. Scott Walker proposed funding state highways at $1.7 billion in the current budget, which, if maintained at that level for a decade, would have resulted in 61.7 percent of roads being in fair or better condition by July 2028. [Wisconsin State Journal, 02/28/2018]

Funding for state road projects could be reduced as much as $90 million by mid-2019 in order to pay for roadwork related to the $10 billion Foxconn Technology Group plant in southeast Wisconsin.

[Associated Press, 02/28/2018]

The state’s $1 million marketing effort to lure young Chicagoans to live and work in Wisconsin is grabbing attention on both sides of the border… The question is whether the message is hitting home — literally… Critics say the six-month campaign launched in January puts down Chicago — sometimes subtly, sometimes bluntly.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/27/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday announced a new state Foxconn website to keep people informed about the project and also announced the first resource fair for construction workers interested in working on the project. The resource fair is scheduled for March 29 at Festival Hall, 5 Fifth Street, according to a release issued Wednesday morning. Individuals interested in construction work for Foxconn or the surrounding infrastructure development will be able to get information to understand the opportunities and qualifications associated with the project, in addition to connecting with available resources to assist with becoming fully qualified. The specific time for the event has not yet been announced. [Racine Journal Times, 02/14/2018]

Governor Scott Walker announced on Wednesday, Feb. 14 that the state launched a new website – wisconnvalley.wi.gov. It is expected to provide residents and businesses with the latest information about the Foxconn Technology Group’s investment in Wisconsin. Foxconn plans to build a 1,200-acre manufacturing campus in Mount Pleasant that could create up to 13,000 jobs. The governor’s office says the new activity will have an estimated annual economic impact of $7 billion. The company estimates it will spend about $1.4 billion annually on goods and services from Wisconsin companies. [WITI-TV, 02/14/2018]

President Donald Trump lavished praise on Gov. Scott Walker at a White House meeting Monday for landing a $10 billion Foxconn factory in Racine County, while also taking credit for bringing the company to the United States. “Everybody wanted Foxconn,” Trump said. “Frankly, they weren’t going to come to this country. I hate to say it, if I didn’t get elected, they wouldn’t be in this country. They would not have done this in this country. I think you know that very well.” Walker was one of eight governors and a dozen other elected officials attending a meeting to discuss the president’s $1.5 trillion infrastructure proposal, which includes $200 billion in federal funding with the rest coming from the private sector or state and local governments. [Wisconsin State Journal, 02/13/2018]

President Donald Trump touted bringing Foxconn Technology Group to Wisconsin as he rolled out his infrastructure plan Monday, but his proposal may leave state Republicans as split as ever when it comes to road funding. The plan Trump unveiled Monday would put $1.5 trillion toward infrastructure over the next decade, but just $200 billion of it would come from the federal government. States, local governments and the private sector would need to come up with the remaining $1.3 trillion. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/12/2018]

According to media reports, alarm bells were being raised about paper industry job losses by a local official in the Fox Valley last year. But Gov. Scott Walker waited until nearly a week after an announcement 600 jobs would be lost and mere minutes before a Democratic press conference, to declare, via Twitter, he would consider doing something.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/08/2018]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker thought he had a big political and economic winner last year when he promised Foxconn nearly $3 billion in state aid to build a plant in Racine to make its LCD computer screens. That’s a lot of money for one employer, and it may soon cost taxpayers even more as politicians bid up corporate subsidies. Kimberly-Clark announced last week that it plans to close two paper factories in the Fox River Valley that employ 600 workers. The region’s third largest employer is undertaking a global restructuring and plans to shed 5,000 jobs worldwide. [Wisconsin State Journal, 02/08/2018]

Louis Woo, a top executive of Foxconn Technology Group, recalled a Tuesday lunch conversation with John Schlifske, the head of Northwestern Mutual. “He could have sealed the deal, made the announcement a couple of weeks, a couple of months ago,” Woo said of Foxconn’s purchase of a downtown Milwaukee office building from Northwestern Mutual. Drawing a laugh from the crowd, Woo said the announcement was held off until Tuesday, because it is the 25th anniversary of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s marriage to his wife, Tonette. [Milwaukee Business Journal, 02/07/2018]

Wisconsin would spend nearly $7 million to draw workers to jobs at state businesses like Foxconn, under legislation from Gov. Scott Walker put before the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee. … The state and local governments in Racine County have committed some $4 billion toward the Foxconn plant, which is expected to cost up to $10 billion and employ up to 13,000 people. That's raised questions about how the new facility will find workers to staff it. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/07/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday he'd be open to offering other paper companies Foxconn-style tax credits just days after he floated the suggestion for consumer products giant Kimberly-Clark. Kimberly-Clark announced last week that it would close plants in Neenah and Fox Crossing, resulting in the loss of 600 jobs. Walker responded Monday by proposing expanding a jobs tax credit for the company from 7 percent to 17 percent, which was the same number used to lure Foxconn to southeast Wisconsin. [Wisconsin Public Radio, 02/07/2018]

Foxconn Technology Group representatives said Tuesday that they were putting a North American headquarters in downtown Milwaukee, but the first questions Gov. Scott Walker faced after the announcement were about other jobs leaving Wisconsin. … The company is buying the 611 Building, at North Van Buren and East Wisconsin, from Northwestern Mutual. The purchase price was not disclosed. Foxconn has no plans to make major changes to the seven-story, 53-year-old building, said Alan Yeung, U.S. director of strategic initiatives. [WITI-TV, 02/06/2018]

Foxconn Technology Group says it will establish a U.S. headquarters in Milwaukee as part of a massive investment it is making in an electronics manufacturing plant in southeast Wisconsin… Republican Gov. Scott Walker says Foxconn’s decision to put its headquarters in Milwaukee is a sign of the company’s “ever-growing footprint” in the state.

[Associated Press, 02/06/2018]

Two weeks ago, Kimberly-Clark, the Irving, Texas-based national paper company, announced it would cut 5,000 jobs and close 10 factories worldwide, including two factories in Neenah and Fox Crossing that would lose a combined 600 employees. But on Monday morning, Walker said on Twitter that he’s asked the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) to help Kimberly-Clark keep those jobs intact and was willing to offer a lot to do so. “To keep 600 jobs here in Wisconsin, I asked the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to offer Kimberly Clark the same deal for jobs as Foxconn,” Walker tweeted.

[Milwaukee Business Journal, 02/05/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker called Monday for giving paper-maker Kimberly-Clark Foxconn-sized job incentives to avoid the closure of plants in Neenah and Fox Crossing. As Democratic lawmakers were announcing their own Kimberly-Clark plan, the GOP governor called for passing legislation to allow the state to give the paper company the same level of tax credits per job as Foxconn. Walker and Republican leaders have said they were willing to provide unprecedented tax credits to Foxconn because the deal with the high-tech company would be "transformational" for the state's economy. Walker is now saying he's willing to provide similar incentives for an industry that, while critical to the state, has shed thousands of jobs in recent years. "To keep 600 jobs here in Wisconsin, I asked the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to offer Kimberly-Clark the same deal for jobs as Foxconn," Walker tweeted. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/05/2018]

Foxconn Technology Group is coming to downtown Milwaukee with plans to buy a seven-story office building — giving it space for potentially hundreds of employees. Foxconn has agreed to buy the 132,800-square-foot building at 611 E. Wisconsin Ave. from Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. for an undisclosed price, it was announced Monday. A Foxconn spokeswoman didn't respond to questions about the company's plans — although more information is likely coming Tuesday. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/05/2018]

Foxconn’s efforts to build a massive manufacturing plant in Mount Pleasant prompted municipal officials on Monday to seek state permission to tap as much as 7 million gallons a day from Lake Michigan, largely to meet the company’s anticipated needs. The City of Racine asked the Department of Natural Resources for permission to divert water from the lake — a step required by an interstate agreement that guides water use in the Great Lakes basin. By comparison, the Lake Michigan water needed for Foxconn and other development is just slightly less than the daily amount of lake water Milwaukee will ship to the City of Waukesha, under a deal approved last year. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 01/29/2018]

The City of Racine on Monday submitted a “straddling community” water diversion application to send Lake Michigan water to the southwestern corner of Mount Pleasant, an area that includes the planned Foxconn Technology Group manufacturing campus The application to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is to extend water service to the part of Mount Pleasant located in the Mississippi River basin, outside the Great Lakes basin. The DNR has review authority and will offer opportunities for public comment. [Racine Journal Times, 01/29/2018]

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says it will decide in about 90 days on a request to pump 7 million gallons a day from Lake Michigan as part of a proposed Foxconn manufacturing complex state leaders have pushed as a major job creator. The DNR on Monday released the Racine Water Utility’s application for an exception from a Great Lakes Compact ban on new or expanded diversions of water to places outside the Great Lakes basin. But an attorney who was involved in the creation of the compact said the state may be moving too quickly and risking a precedent that could make it impossible to say no to private demands for excessive withdrawals of freshwater in the future.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 01/29/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker is proposing a new $50 million annual investment in rural economic development projects. Walker announced the proposal Wednesday, hours before he was to deliver his State of the State speech. He says the new money would primarily be used to stimulate private investment, improve productivity and fill open jobs in rural parts of the state.

[Associated Press, 01/24/2018]

The Foxconn plant wasn’t a major issue in her race against Republican Adam Jarchow — in large part because neither candidate supported it, albeit for very different reasons. Mike Brown, deputy director of One Wisconsin Now, a major progressive non-profit in the state, says the deal has “absolutely” become a liability for Walker electorally. Politicians in the 20 cities Amazon has deemed potentially worthy of its future headquarters may want to pay close attention to Walker’s peril. [the Intercept, 01/19/2018]

SCOTT WALKER, WHO is running for a third term as Wisconsin governor this November, thought he had found political dynamite by wooing tech manufacturer Foxconn to Wisconsin with billions in taxpayer giveaways. Yet this week, Democrats ran in special elections against the corporate welfare project, with one pulling off a stunning upset and another losing a race by 14 points after Hillary Clinton had been beaten in the same district in the 2016 election by more than 40. … The budget for the Foxconn project has ballooned recently. Originally pitched by Walker as a $3 billion state investment this summer, official estimates released this week suggest that the project will end up costing around $4.5 billion in public funds. Thanks to measures passed through the legislature in September, Foxconn will receive the largest tax break that a U.S. state has ever offered a corporation. Communities around the proposed plant will shell out, too, including $764 million from the tiny village of Mount Pleasant, where the factory will be located. [The Intercept, 01/19/2018]

While it’s true Foxconn has been offered a large tax incentive of $3 billion dollars — or $4.5 billion per Assembly minority leader Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) — the state of Washington offered another large employer, Boeing Corporation, $8.7 billion dollars to remain there. That’s almost double the amount of incentives Wisconsin is offering Foxconn. What do the Democrats in Washington State know about needing and keeping family sustaining jobs that Democrats here haven’t figured out? Except those who represent Kenosha and Racine counties, who all voted for the plant along with one Democrat from Milwaukee’s inner-city where unemployment is extraordinarily high. [Racine Journal Times, 01/18/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday announced details of how the state would spend $20 million allocated to workforce development in the special session legislation that cleared the way for Foxconn Technology Group to receive $3 billion in incentives. Foxconn plans to create 13,000 jobs at a $10 billion LCD panel manufacturing campus in Mount Pleasant. Businesses throughout the state already say they’re having a hard time finding workers as unemployment approaches 3 percent. The governor has also proposed $6.8 million in funding to expand efforts to recruit workers to Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. recently launched the initial phase of those marketing efforts with a campaign aimed at Chicago-area millennials. [Milwaukee Business Times, 01/17/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker announced the initiative Wednesday at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Funding for the idea was part of legislation lawmakers approved last year to have Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group build an electronics factory in southeast Wisconsin…Part of the plan will inject $5 million to allow high school students to take college courses in technology before they graduate. There will also be $7 million in scholarships for students who want to improve their skill set, as well as training for high-demand fields…Funding will come from the next biennium budget but Walker said lawmakers shouldn’t wait to discuss how the $20 million will be spent.

[Wisconsin Public Radio, 01/17/2018]

A newly released memo projects the public cost for a planned Foxconn manufacturing project near Racine could near $4.5 billion — nearly 50 percent more than the $3 billion cost initially cited by the project’s chief proponent at the state Capitol, Gov. Scott Walker. The figures were compiled by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau in a memo requested — and released Tuesday — by Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh. The individual cost figures are not new but had not previously been compiled in a single document. They reflect costs to state government, mostly through tax credits for Foxconn over a 15-year period. They also include costs to local governments near the proposed site of the Foxconn campus, in eastern Racine County. [Wisconsin State Journal, 01/17/2018]

A newly released memo projects the public cost for a planned Foxconn manufacturing project near Racine could near $4.5 billion — nearly 50 percent more than the $3 billion cost initially cited by the project’s chief proponent at the state Capitol, Gov. Scott Walker.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 01/17/2018]

A planned Foxconn manufacturing facility in southwest Wisconsin could cost taxpayers roughly $4.5 billion, a state assemblyman said Tuesday. [The Hill, 01/16/2018]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker joined Wisconsin business groups in sounding an alarm about a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plan to implement stricter air emissions standards that could impact Foxconn Technology Group’s massive complex in Racine County… Walker, through a spokeswoman, told the Milwaukee Business Journal he’s concerned that a planned federal tightening of business air-pollution emissions will place “an undue burden on Wisconsin businesses.”

[Milwaukee Business Journal, 01/11/2018]

Usually wetlands outside of federal jurisdiction are protected under state law, but the Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker exempted Foxconn from state restrictions.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 01/04/2018]

Courted heavily by Gov. Scott Walker, then offered $3 billion in future tax credits and tax breaks, Foxconn set its sights on southeastern Wisconsin and the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor, particularly Racine and Kenosha counties.

[Racine Journal Times, 01/01/2018]

Associated sweeteners have now grown to more than $4 billion -- adding in the cost of local government incentives and various infrastructure projects, like roads and highways, sewer and power lines. Foxconn is also being allowed to skip state environmental rules and oversight it would otherwise have had to follow. [CNN Money, 12/28/2017]

As we reach the end of 2017, the price tag on the public investment in Foxconn has received renewed attention from local and national media. It’s not unreasonable for the public to question how $4.5 billion is going to be spent on something that could remake the identity of southeastern Wisconsin. The reality is most of the costs have been public for at least a couple of months. The $3 billion in tax incentives – including $1.5 billion for job creation, $1.35 billion for capital investment and a $150 million sales tax exemption – were all part of the Foxconn state legislation. The sales tax exemption is how the company would go from $2.85 billion offered in tax credits (for investing $9 billion and creating 13,000 jobs) to the full $3 billion announced by Gov. Scott Walker in July. [Milwaukee Business Times, 12/28/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker had already reached desperate levels of generosity to entice a big electronics company to locate in Wisconsin. Last summer, the governor agreed to an eye-popping $3 billion in state subsidies to secure the arrival of Foxconn, a global manufacturer of flat-panel display screens. That amounts to an annual state subsidy (that is, taxpayer money) of $15,000 to $19,000 per promised job — more than five times the typical subsidy, according to job development specialists. [New York Times, 12/10/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker announced Wednesday he is seeking $6.8 million from the Legislature this session for a campaign to market Wisconsin to young workers and veterans in other states. The proposal was part of what Walker described to business leaders at a Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce event in Madison as a three-pronged strategy for addressing the state’s workforce needs: increasing worker training, removing barriers to work, and attracting and retaining new talent. [Wisconsin State Journal, 11/30/2017]

Not everyone shares Walker's enthusiasm. Critics question the size and wisdom of the state's huge investment. And because the proposition was divisive while going through the legislature, it’s no surprise that neighbors have mixed opinions. … Owner Dave Flannery says, “For a lot of customers, this is an escape from the everyday stuff that everybody is going through.” [WUWM-FM, 11/15/2017]

Foxconn Technology Group is considering investment in a Wisconsin venture fund that would provide seed money to startups that develop commercial applications based on the company’s super-high-definition display panels. “I’ve been in two or three meetings where that’s the specific topic,” Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, said this week in an interview. He declined to say who locally might be involved in such a fund. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/14/2017]

Walker said his administration will next help make sure Foxconn connects with construction companies across Wisconsin. He also said he'll focus on teaming up with higher education and the private sector to make sure there are enough skilled workers for both Foxconn's factory and other companies. "I don't want to have this to be a matter of hiring people but taking it from other businesses. I want to add people working in the state on top of what we already have in the employment mix. And so it's gonna take a lot of help," Walker said in an interview Friday. [Wisconsin Public Radio, 11/14/2017]

When Gov. Scott Walker launched his re-election campaign, he didn’t mention Foxconn by name, and people noticed. But when he appeared on the political talk show “UpFront with Mike Gousha” on Sunday, Foxconn took up a lot of air time. Walker repeated his earlier explanation for not emphasizing the deal in his campaign announcement: It’s just part of his economic agenda, which includes strengthening small and large business alike, he said. … Walker said that the deal, signed last week Friday, was good news for everyone in the state, not just Mount Pleasant, where the factory will be built. Construction companies from around the state will be involved, and Foxconn will eventually do “about $1.4 billion of business with Wisconsin-based companies.” [Capital Times, 11/12/2017]

Today, Gov. Scott Walker signed a contract to implement a deal that is the largest state giveaway to a foreign corporation in history — a deal that commits state and local taxpayers to nearly $4 billion in subsidies to bring a factory run by Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn.

[One Wisconsin Now, 11/10/2017]

The buzz for Foxconn's Racine County arrival was palpable Friday, as hundreds of the state's and region's most powerful political figures packed into the Racine headquarters of S.C. Johnson. Check out the attached slideshow to see photos from the big event. For nearly an hour, people mingled and shuffled around the crowded ballroom. Around 1:40 p.m., with the crowd in its seats, five men took the stage to give remarks before the contract signing. The men were Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, S.C. Johnson chairman and CEO Fisk Johnson, Trump administration representative Reed Cordish, and the man of the hour, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou. [Milwaukee Business Journal, 11/10/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker and Foxconn Technology Group Chairman Terry Gou signed off Friday on the biggest development deal in Wisconsin history, inking a contract that provides a once-unimaginable level of state financial aid for a massive manufacturing complex that backers say will transform the state’s economy. Seated in front of an array of American and Wisconsin flags in a sleek hall at the historic headquarters of S.C. Johnson & Son Inc., Walker and Gou, head of the $135 billion Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, put their signatures on a deal that promises to put an immense liquid crystal display panel factory on 1,000 acres a few miles west, in Mount Pleasant. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/10/2017]

Gov. Walker and Gou signed a contract Friday that locks the state into providing up to $3 billion in tax incentives if Foxconn invests $10 billion on a new display screen manufacturing factory and campus. The Taiwanese company would also have to hire 13,000 workers to get the full benefit. The plan is to put shovels in the ground in spring 2018. [WITI-TV, 11/10/2017]

As Scot Ross, head of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, told Stein, if Walker isn’t mentioning Foxconn, it’s because the governor’s internal polling is showing the deal isn’t popular. [Urban Milwaukee, 11/09/2017]

Wisconsin used guarantees from a Taiwanese billionaire and the company he founded to avoid a problem that one Democratic critic has described as a potential "nuclear bomb" in a $3 billion jobs contract. With the state's largest such deal ever at risk, Terry Gou, the chairman of Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group, helped push the project forward by agreeing to pay one-quarter of the potential contract penalties if the flat-screen plant planned for Racine County is closed down. Three lawmakers — one Republican and two Democrats — said the state's jobs agency delayed an Oct. 17 vote on the contract with Foxconn because the state hadn't finalized guarantees from the entities that would be in the best position to pay the potential penalties in the contract. This issue, which project opponent Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) has described as a potential "nuclear bomb," was resolved when the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. secured a jobs guarantee of a combined up to $500 million from Foxconn's parent company, Hon Hai Precision Industries, and Gou himself. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/09/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker will visit Racine on Friday to sign the state’s agreement with technology manufacturer Foxconn. Walker plans to sign the contract at SC Johnson at a 1:30 p.m. ceremony, according to a press release. Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou and Speaker Paul Ryan are expected to attend. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation voted Wednesday to approve the state’s contract with Foxconn, which offers nearly $3 billion in incentives to build a liquid crystal display panel plant in Mount Pleasant. [Racine Journal Times, 11/09/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker couldn’t say “Foxconn” enough throughout the summer months, touting his efforts to deliver the largest state subsidy to a foreign corporation in history. But now, as polls consistently find strong public opposition to the deal and a contract is signed putting state taxpayers on the hook for up to $4 billion, Walker doesn't even mention Foxconn in his stump speech as he jets around the state announcing he is running for election in 2018.

[One Wisconsin Now, 11/08/2017]

Wisconsin’s economic development agency on Wednesday approved a $3 billion incentives package for Taiwan-based Foxconn to build a massive liquid-crystal display plant in the state, Governor Scott Walker said. [Reuters, 11/08/2017]

Scot Ross, head of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, noted Walker regularly gets polls of his own. "If he’s not mentioning Foxconn, it’s because his internal polling is even less favorable," Ross said. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/06/2017]

As Walker launches his bid for a third term and as the polling on the Foxconn project has been lackluster so far, the governor has taken a different tone on the bid to bring a flat-screen plant to Racine County. After spending months touting the up to 13,000 jobs at the proposed plant, the GOP governor didn't mention Foxconn at his 2018 re-election kickoff on Sunday. He kept his distance again on Monday when conservative talk radio host Jerry Bader asked Walker about Sunday's omission. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/06/2017]

Says Foxconn didn't keep a promise to build a plant in Pennsylvania because "Pennsylvania changed governors." Our rating: Mostly False. Walker made his re-election announcement three days before the scheduled vote of the board of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. on a $3 billion contract with Foxconn. The Taiwanese high-tech manufacturer plans to invest up to $10 billion in a manufacturing plant in southeastern Wisconsin. The project has stirred excitement about the possibility of 13,000 jobs, but also caution about offering up to $3 billion in state incentives to a company that hasn’t always followed through on its promises. Despite Walker’s claim about what happened in Pennsylvania, the record indicates that by the time the Democratic administration there took over, little progress had been made more than a year after Foxconn and the GOP governor announced Foxconn’s plans. It's not as though there had been a deal in place that fell apart after the election. Foxconn, meanwhile, has given explanations ranging from "material changes to the business and operating climate at that time," to Pennsylvania not making an economically viable to proposal to, reportedly, blaming Pennsylvania’s change in governors. "Foxconn is bringing 13,000 high-tech jobs to Wisconsin." Our rating: Half True. Foxconn itself has been more measured, saying the planned plant initially will create 3,000 jobs, "with the potential to grow to 13,000 new jobs." But the 13,000 is more than talk. Foxconn is pledging a $10 billion investment and the state is offering $3 billion in incentives, with $1.5 billion aimed at the creation of 13,000 jobs. [PolitiFact, 11/06/2017]

Walker will also have to navigate the uncertain political terrain of the state’s $3 billion tax incentive to Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn, which is expected to create some 13,000 jobs in Racine County. A recent Marquette Law School Poll found lukewarm support for the deal in southeastern Wisconsin, the area most likely to benefit. Walker didn’t mention the company in his remarks. Walker’s approval level in the Marquette poll dipped to 37 percent when he ran for president in 2015. It has since rebounded to 48 percent as of June, though the poll hasn’t been conducted since the Foxconn deal was announced. [Wisconsin State Journal, 11/06/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday refused to weigh in on a push for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to change its approval process for the $3 billion contract with tech giant Foxconn. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, both told the Wisconsin State Journal they think the WEDC board should see the entire contract with Foxconn before they vote to approve or reject it. Typically, the board would vote on a staff memo outlining the contract, instead of seeing the entire document. Walker, speaking with reporters by phone from Israel, where he's on a trade mission, refused to say whether he would support the change. [Wisconsin Public Radio, 11/01/2017]

Republican leaders of the Wisconsin Legislature say the state's economic development agency should be allowed to review the proposed $3 billion contract with Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group before voting on it. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos both told the Wisconsin State Journal in interviews Tuesday that the contract language should be available. [WMTV-TV, 11/01/2017]

“Gov. Walker cutting an attack ad on jobs in Illinois is a bizarre move for a guy who broke his 2010 promise to create 250,000 jobs in here by 2014 and still hasn’t gotten to that number in 2017,” said Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. [WITI-TV, 10/25/2017]

As the state legislature’s Joint Audit Committee reviews another critical review of the performance of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), a contract between the agency and Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn to implement the details of the largest state subsidy to a foreign corporation remain hidden from the public. According to the audit, the agency created by Gov. Scott Walker in 2011 continues to fail to adequately track jobs created or retained and has a dramatically increasing amount of potentially uncollectible loans. Meanwhile, despite a request from a WEDC board member, the agency appears set to continue to hide the details of the contract with Foxconn until after it is signed.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/24/2017]

“We are all for communities in Wisconsin aggressively courting new employers and new jobs, especially because of Scott Walker’s failure to create the 250,000 jobs he promised in his 2009 campaign,” said Scot Ross of the statewide progressive group One Wisconsin Now. He also said, “We saw from the Foxconn debacle Scott Walker is a terrible negotiator. So if taxpayers are going to get the best deal, it better be left in the hands of local elected officials in Milwaukee and Madison. The best deal for taxpayers is always investing in people.” [Wisconsin Gazette, 10/10/2017]

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn, in line for nearly $4 billion in subsidies from state and local taxpayers in Wisconsin, was hawking “spirit wear” at an informational booth they sponsored on the campus of the private Marquette University today.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/09/2017]

GOP lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker may have gone too far in dictating how courts should handle any potential litigation over a massive flat-screen factory planned for Racine County, the Legislature's nonpartisan attorneys have found. The memo from the Wisconsin Legislative Council didn't come to definite conclusions but found several provisions of the legislation for Foxconn Technology Group of Taiwan and its plant may be unconstitutional. The provisions could give opponents of the Foxconn deal more lines of attack in litigation — and potentially drive up the cost to taxpayers for defending the state in court. The law signed by Walker on Monday changes how environmental challenges and other potential legal cases over the factory would be handled, including automatically suspending any lower court orders until a higher court has weighed in. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 09/20/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker signed a $3 billion incentive package Monday for Foxconn Technology Group to build a flat-screen plant in southeastern Wisconsin, a deal he says will provide thousands of jobs for generations. …

[Associated Press, 09/19/2017]

Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director, called the bill a subsidy and took issue that the incentives are going to a foreign corporation. “By signing the Foxconn deal into law today Scott Walker, and the legislators that put the bill on his desk, are responsible for committing us to send billions to a foreign corporation instead of investing it here — in Wisconsin public schools and universities, in Wisconsin roads and bridges, and in Wisconsin businesses and entrepreneurs,” Ross said. [Racine County Eye, 09/18/2017]

The governor and state legislators "are responsible for committing us to send billions to a foreign corporation instead of investing it here," said Scot Ross, head of the progressive group One Wisconsin Now. [AFP, 09/18/2017]

Today, Gov. Scott Walker is set to sign into law the largest state subsidy given to a foreign corporation in history. Under the terms of an agreement literally written out in longhand on a piece of stationery, taxpayers of the state of Wisconsin will be on the hook for billions of dollars, payable to Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn, with no guarantees their money will only be used to support Wisconsin jobs.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/18/2017]

A $3 billion state subsidy package to lure electronics maker Foxconn to Wisconsin, the biggest of its kind in U.S. history, is now on the verge of becoming law. The bill heads to the desk of a supportive Gov. Scott Walker after passing the state Assembly Thursday, 64-31. Four Assembly Democrats voted for it: Jason Fields of Milwaukee, Corey Mason of Racine, Peter Barca of Kenosha and Tod Ohnstad of Kenosha. Two Republicans, Adam Jarchow of Balsam Lake and Todd Novak of Dodgeville, opposed it. [Wisconsin State Journal, 09/15/2017]

The progressive group One Wisconsin Now characterized A.B. 1 as the most costly state-funded tax credit package ever offered to a foreign corporation in U.S. history. [Bloomberg, 09/13/2017]

Our rating Gronik says Wisconsin is "guaranteeing Foxconn almost $3 billion, but Foxconn is not contractually guaranteeing how many full-time employees it will hire, for how long and at what pay." Wisconsin is guaranteeing to pay Foxconn up to $2.85 billion -- but the full amount would be paid only if the company invests at least $9 billion in its plant and, in rough numbers, employs at least 13,000 people earning at least $30,000 per year. The payments would be less, if Foxconn doesn’t meet those targets. It’s true that Foxconn is not guaranteeing how many people it will hire, for how long and at what pay. That means it’s theoretically possible the company could earn up to $1.35 billion in investment incentives but not employ anyone, if it built the facility but never operated it. But the other $1.5 billion would be paid, on a graduated basis, only as people are employed at the plant. For a statement that is partially accurate, our rating is Half True. [PolitiFact, 09/12/2017]

The state Supreme Court could jump ahead of appellate courts and hear potential legal appeals related to a multibillion-dollar flat-screen plant planned for southeastern Wisconsin, under action by a legislative panel Tuesday. On party line 12-4 votes, Republicans on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee amended and then approved the more than $3 billion incentive bill for Foxconn Technology Group Tuesday as part of a marathon week of action on the subsidy legislation and the separate state budget. Environmental groups have said in recent weeks that they would consider suing over the Foxconn legislation, which already exempts the Taiwanese company from certain state rules to protect wetlands and the environment. The unusual legal provision would allow parties in environmental and other Foxconn lawsuits to appeal trial court orders related to the plant directly to the state Supreme Court, which is controlled by conservatives. All lower court orders would be automatically suspended until the Supreme Court weighed in. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 09/05/2017]

Changes to a $3 billion incentive plan for electronics giant Foxconn Technology Group, a potential new $100 fee for electric vehicle owners and tax cuts that could benefit Wisconsin businesses are all teed up for consideration as the Legislature’s budget committee hopes to complete its work this week. The Joint Finance Committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, with the goal of finally ending a stalemate that’s delayed passage of the budget for two months. Getting to that point will require Republicans who control both the Senate and Assembly finally agreeing on how to plug a $1 billion funding gap in transportation, amid a myriad of other outstanding issues that have stalled passage of the two-year spending plan. [Associated Press, 09/04/2017]

A report in the Capital Times this week reveals that Scott Walker’s favorite University of Wisconsin professor, Noah Williams, has received grants worth $340,000 from right-wing mega funders Koch and Bradley Foundations this year. Williams, who also sought work as an advisor on Walker’s 71 day long run for President, has produced “studies” touting a Walker supported tax loophole and his proposed deal to give Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn a $3 billion state subsidy.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/01/2017]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s office increased its proposed Foxconn Technology Group financial-incentive package to $3 billion in July from $1.25 billion in June during negotiations “as the scope of the project changed” with the Taiwanese manufacturer. The increase in the proposed incentive amount was included in documents the Walker administration revealed Thursday to the Milwaukee Business Journal in response to an open records request. [Milwaukee Business Journal, 09/01/2017]

Signaling his support for a new fee on electric and hybrid vehicles, Gov. Scott Walker on Friday said charging more for those cars was a matter of fairness. "If they put wear and tear on the roads like any other vehicle, they should probably have a part in paying for the system," the GOP governor told reporters after attending a groundbreaking for Angelic Bakehouse. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 09/01/2017]

The state this summer substantially increased its offers to a Taiwanese company looking to build a flat-screen plant in southeastern Wisconsin, ultimately reaching the up to $3 billion subsidy deal now before lawmakers. Gov. Scott Walker and Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, signed a commitment on July 12 on the up to $10 billion factory, according to documents released to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel under the state's open records law. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/31/2017]

Any doubt campaign politics is the driving force behind Gov. Scott Walker gambling $3 billion on a subsidy for Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn has been dispelled by the creation of a single job. According to a report from Wispolitics.com, the lobbying firm hired by Foxconn has brought on Keith Gilkes, Walker’s longtime campaign manager and the head of the Unintimidated PAC that supported his presidential ambitions, to do “public affairs and communications.”

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/29/2017]

Our rating Walker says Foxconn didn't keep a promise to build a plant in Pennsylvania because "Pennsylvania changed governors." But the record indicates that by the time the Democratic administration took over, little progress had been made more than a year after Foxconn and the GOP governor announced Foxconn’s plans. It's not as though there was a deal in place that fell apart after the election. Foxconn, meanwhile, has given explanations ranging from "material changes to the business and operating climate at that time," to Pennsylvania not making an economically viable to proposal to, reportedly, blaming Pennsylvania’s change in governors. In short, Walker’s statement contains an element of truth, but leaves out critical facts that would give a different impression -- our definition of Mostly False. [PolitiFact, 08/25/2017]

Making LCDs requires heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, chromium, zinc and copper, said Peter Adriaens, professor of environmental engineering at the University of Michigan. But companies in China don’t have the same disclosure requirements as companies in the U.S. for the materials they use, Adriaens said. [Seattle Times, 08/25/2017]

More than 100 businesses, trade associations and local chambers of commerce launched a group Thursday to lobby for a multibillion-dollar deal to bring a flat screen plant to southeastern Wisconsin. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce — the state's largest business lobby — is leading the Wisconn Valley Jobs Coalition. … "We want to demonstrate that there is broad statewide support for the legislation," said Scott Manley, the top lobbyist for WMC. "We also anticipate the group will be active after (the bill's passage.)" Supporters say the Foxconn deal represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring a new industry to the United States and site it here in Wisconsin, along with a large number of suppliers and ripple-effect jobs. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/24/2017]

Williams connected to Walker after aggressively selling himself to the governor, as university emails reviewed by One Wisconsin Now documented in a press release. [Urban Milwaukee, 08/23/2017]

Our rating Walker said Wisconsin is now a Top 10 state for business when it used to be in the bottom 10. Site selection professionals say they have seen improvements in Wisconsin’s business environment, but note there is no consensus on how to define and rank the business climate between states. Walker’s claim was made broadly and without attribution even though it referred to just one of many rankings that attempt to quantify data and perceptions on states’ business environments. It is the only prominent national ranking to rank Wisconsin in the Top 10 aside from an index that focuses narrowly on small businesses. We rate Walker’s claim Mostly False. [PolitiFact, 08/23/2017]

Walker said the liquid-crystal display panels Foxconn says it wants to make in Wisconsin could be used to improve how surgeries and other procedures are conducted. His remarks came at UW Hospital on Tuesday, backed by UW Health CEO Alan Kaplan and UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank. “We think there’s incredible application when it comes to the health care here in the state of Wisconsin, particularly to have someone manufacturing that right here in our own state,” Walker said. [Wisconsin State Journal, 08/23/2017]

The liberal group One Wisconsin Now pointed Tuesday to open records that it had received from Gov. Scott Walker's office showing that in 2015 Williams had sought to advise Walker on his unsuccessful presidential campaign. That year, Williams also contributed $500 to Walker's campaign, federal records show. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/22/2017]

People who oppose the state's proposed deal with Taiwanese electronics company Foxconn will come around once it yields results, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Tuesday. … "I think actions speak louder than words, and once ground is broken and we’re going forward with this and they realize there’s a sound plan not only to build family-supporting jobs but there’s a sound plan to continue to protect the environment, I think there will be support as there has been for other things we’ve done in the past," Walker said. [Capital Times, 08/22/2017]

Neitzel called the plant a "once-in-a-century opportunity" for the state. He insisted that job tax credits will be tied to the number of jobs created. If the company creates only 3,000 jobs, the tax break would therefore be smaller, he said. Hogan added that his agency is negotiating "clawback" provisions in a contract with Foxconn executing the legislation. Such provisions would require the company to repay at least some tax credits if it doesn't build the plant or create jobs. Neitzel acknowledged that the plant will be highly automated, but that simply means the jobs will be "fairly high-end," he said. The vast majority of employees — more than 90 percent — will be Wisconsin residents, he predicted. "(The facility is) creating a whole new ecosystem," Neitzel said. "It's creating an industry that's not here." [Chicago Tribune, 08/22/2017]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says the entire state will experience an economic boost from a proposed Foxconn technology plant in southeast Wisconsin. … The governor says construction of a multi-billion dollar plant would benefit suppliers across the state. Walker tells Action 2 News it would generate nearly $6 billion for construction suppliers. "Just in construction alone, they estimate at least $5.7 billion of the total amount they're spending building this will be just resourced here in the state of Wisconsin. There won't be a construction worker here in the state that won't have the opportunity to work," Walker says. [WBAY-TV, 08/22/2017]

The liberal group One Wisconsin Now Tuesday pointed to open records that they had received from Gov. Scott Walker's office showing that in 2015 Williams had sought to advise Walker on his unsuccessful presidential campaign. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/21/2017]

A massive manufacturing complex planned by Foxconn Technology Group could generate broad gains for Wisconsin “that go far beyond the direct job estimates and tax revenue costs which have dominated the recent discussion,” according to a report by a UW-Madison economist released Monday.If the Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer employs 13,000 people in the state, the ripple effect could spawn an additional 19,000 to 26,000 jobs through growth from the company's suppliers and other businesses in the region, said Noah Williams, director of the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/21/2017]

During Monday's session, Walker stressed that the deal is not a political tactic and should bw nothing but a promising opportunity for the state. Walker said, "Some of the same people who've said for years we need jobs are now saying 'wait a minute, maybe we don't want jobs because it may be politically advantageous for the governor.' They're not saying it in those terms but the sad reality is some people are so cynical about politics that they're willing to oppose something they've said for years they wanted just because they think it may be politically advantageous for me in the future." Meanwhile, Democrat Dana Wachs says there are three things wrong with the Foxconn deal. … The Democratic candidate for governor said, "This comes at a time where the Governor has cut a billion dollars out of the K-12 education budget, $785 million out of the university budget, $235 million out of the technical school budget. What was all of that cutting for? Now we are going to give $3 billion dollars to Chinese manufactures. We don't need Chinese-style economics in Wisconsin.” [WEAU-TV, 08/21/2017]

Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled state Assembly voted 59-30 on Thursday to approve a bill that paves the way for a $3 billion incentives package for a proposed liquid-crystal display plant by Taiwan’s Foxconn (FXCNY, -3.07%). The plan still needs to be approved by the joint finance committee, which has members from both the Assembly and the state Senate, as well as the Senate before it can go to the governor. The finance committee and Senate are also controlled by Republicans. Foxconn, an electronics manufacturer formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (HNHPF, -2.07%), hopes to open a $10 billion plant in 2020 at a 1,000-acre site in southeastern Wisconsin. [Fortune, 08/18/2017]

Wisconsin's Republican-controlled State Assembly voted 59-30 on Thursday to approve a bill that paves the way for a $3 billion incentives package for a proposed liquid-crystal display plant by Taiwan's Foxconn. The plan still needs to be approved by the joint finance committee, which has members from both the Assembly and the state Senate, as well as the Senate before it can go to the governor. The finance committee and the Senate are also controlled by Republicans. [CNBC, 08/17/2017]

[PolitiFact, 08/17/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker has failed to make a minimally credible case for bartering off Wisconsin’s future in pursuit of a deal with the Taiwanese contracting firm Foxconn. In part, this is because Walker is desperate to erase memories of his failure to keep his over-the-top campaign promises regarding job creation. In part, this is because Walker — a career politician who lacks meaningful experience in business or economics — is uniquely unprepared to engage in economic development initiatives, as the mess he made with his Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. experiment has well illustrated. [Capital Times, 08/16/2017]

Walker, meanwhile, sees the Foxconn deal as the foundation on which to base his upcoming 2018 re-election campaign. The governor has made his bones as the most aggressive union-buster in the country. After winning election in 2010, he immediately went after public workers’ collective-bargaining rights. And then he survived a recall election in 2012, won re-election in 2014, and promptly got right-to-work signed into law. The governor’s economic development policies haven’t exactly put workers first, either. In 2011, he privatized the state’s economic development agency, creating the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, which is charged with administering more than $500 million in grants, bonds, tax credits, and loans to companies. Since then, the WEDC has become notorious for dealing out lucrative tax breaks to companies that make big job-creation promises, only to come up way short. As Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik has reported, the WEDC doled out a $6 million grant to Ashley Furniture without any type of job-creation requirements; indeed, Ashley was allowed to lay off half of its 3,800-employee workforce in the state. Two other companies received millions of dollars in tax credits, whereupon it moved hundreds of jobs abroad. [The American Prospect, 08/16/2017]

Members from the Greater Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, area technical colleges, representatives from the University of Wisconsin System and other business leaders were in attendance. … During the roundtable discussion, Walker said area technical colleges would play a key role once Foxconn starts to build. … "Foxconn is the world’s fourth-largest tech company by revenue and they chose Wisconsin over every other state in the country because we have the strong education system necessary to prepare the next generation of workers with the practical skills necessary to meet Foxconn’s workforce needs,” Walker said … "It helps advance the state in the field of digital imaging, I think that is exciting. It's an arena of advanced manufacturing that currently no one does in all of North America," explained UW System President Ray Cross. [WLUK-TV, 08/16/2017]

Wisconsin's $3 billion incentive offer to Foxconn is "the largest gift ever by a state to a foreign company." [PolitiFact, 08/15/2017]

‘…the best available source indicates the $3 billion would be the largest ever subsidy provided by a state to a foreign company.’— PolitiFact, 8/15/2017

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/15/2017]

After Democrat Tom Wolf unseated Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in 2014, Foxconn saw the writing on the wall, Walker said. “In the case of Pennsylvania, they changed leadership, they changed who the governor was,” Walker told MacIver News Service Tuesday on the Vicki McKenna Show, on NewsTalk 1130 WISN in Milwaukee. “I jokingly, but only half jokingly, say, it’s probably a pretty good reason not to change who the governor is for the next few years,” Walker, who is expected to run in 2018 for a third term, added. The Badger State’s proposed $3 billion incentives package would no doubt play a big part in sealing Foxconn’s plan to build a $10 billion high-tech manufacturing campus in southeast Wisconsin – a development project that could ultimately create 13,000 jobs at what would be Foxconn’s first North American manufacturing operation. But Walker said Wisconsin offers Foxconn intangible benefits that other states cannot, chief among them, stability. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, billed as “The most liberal Governor in America,” brought into office an agenda of big tax increases and stiffer government regulations on business. [MacIver Institute, 08/15/2017]

Our rating One Wisconsin Now says Wisconsin's $3 billion incentive offer to Foxconn is "the largest gift ever by a state to a foreign company." The $3 billion wouldn’t be given -- it would be paid, in increments, based on how much Foxconn spends on capital investments and payroll. But the only compilation of government subsidies we found shows that the Foxconn offer would exceed the highest subsidy provided to a foreign company -- $1.65 billion in 2012, made by Pennsylvania to Dutch Royal Shell, based in The Netherlands. For a statement that is partially accurate but leaves out important information, our rating is Half True. [PolitiFact, 08/15/2017]

Without any Democratic votes, Republicans on Monday advanced a $3 billion incentive package to encourage Foxconn Technology Group to build a display panel plant in southeastern Wisconsin that could employ thousands. The 8-5 vote in the Assembly Committee on Jobs and the Economy came as a new report concluded the ripple effect from the Taiwanese tech giant's investment would produce 4,000 to 10,000 fewer jobs than previously estimated. On the positive side, the report by consultant Baker Tilly Virchow Krause predicted a greater number of short-term jobs resulting from the construction of the Foxconn factory. The report was produced for Gov. Scott Walker's administration and released under Wisconsin's open records law. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/14/2017]

Would taxpayers in his manufacturing town, which is next to Lake Michigan, have to absorb the cost of new water and sewer lines? And if the company really did hire 3,000 workers over the next four years, where would they come from? Where would they live? … “There are so many unknowns,” Wiser said. “People are a bit perplexed.” … Frank Carmichael, an entrepreneur and talk show host in Kenosha, remains skeptical of the governor’s proposal and speedy timeline. The public just learned of the Foxconn deal last month, he said, and lawmakers could vote on it this week. “We all know the devil lies in the details,” he said.“When you’re offering those kinds of incentives, there shouldn’t be a rush to judgment.” Carmichael, 65, said he’s concerned about the potential environment impact to his lakeside community. The bill that lawmakers are reviewing this week would allow Foxconn to dump dredge into a nonfederal waterway or wetland without a permit. [Washington Post, 08/14/2017]

In exchange for environmental exemptions and up to $2.85 billion in cash from state taxpayers, Foxconn has said it would build a $10 billion plant that would employ 3,000 initially and as many as 13,000 in the coming years. GOP Gov. Scott Walker, who signed the deal, is touting it as a win for Wisconsin and a key reason to back his re-election in 2018. Wachs said he believes the deal is being voted on too quickly with too few protections for taxpayers and the environment. "I worked very hard to be a yes vote but there's (those) three things I can't get over," Wachs said. "I think it's a terrible deal for the taxpayers." [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/13/2017]

There’s an old saying in politics, when counting votes anything other than “yes” is “no.” That same wisdom applies to Gov. Walker’s proposed $3 billion-plus subsidy to induce Taiwanese-based Foxconn to locate a factory in Wisconsin [Capital Times, 08/12/2017]

First, the notion that corporate subsidies increase employment or raise wages is not evidence-based. A comprehensive study by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, which analyzed corporate subsidies data going back to 1990, found that “incentives do not have a large correlation with a state’s current or past unemployment or income levels, or with future economic growth.” [Capital Times, 08/12/2017]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements in response to Assembly Republicans’ latest version of a $3 billion taxpayer handout to a foreign corporation. Assembly Republicans announced they will hold a committee vote Monday on what would be the largest handout to a foreign company by a state in American history.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/11/2017]

Under Gov. Walker, who briefly ran for the Republican presidential nomination last year, Wisconsin has been something of a sinkhole in economic development schemes. After Walker privatized the state's main job-development agency, it became ensnared in scandal after scandal while failing to make much of a mark on job growth. The defining job program of Walker's administration was a $6-million grant in 2014 to Ashley Furniture, which was allowed to lay off half of its 3,800 Wisconsin workers as part of the deal. A few weeks after the grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. was approved, Ashley's owners donated $20,000 to the reelection campaign of the development group's chairman, Gov. Walker. [LATimes, 08/11/2017]

In a tweet she later took down, Sargent said that on the Foxconn deal, "3,000 jobs cost #WI taxpayers more than $3 billion in tax giveaways. Break it down: more than $1 million in taxpayer dollars per job." The per-job cost could never reach $1 million if only 3,000 jobs are created; the full $3 billion would be paid only if 13,000 jobs are created. An analysis projects the per-job cost at $219,000 per job if 13,000 jobs are created and $587,000 per job if 3,000 jobs are created. We rate Sargent’s statement False. [PolitiFact, 08/11/2017]

A May audit found the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) did not independently verify jobs numbers claimed by recipients of tax credits and posted inaccurate jobs figures online. Earlier such reports by the non-partisan Legislative Audit Bureau identified similar shortcomings in 2013 and 2015. … The WEDC, formed in 2011 as part of Republican Governor Scott Walker’s push to create jobs, helped negotiate the deal with Foxconn that offers $3 billion in total state subsidies. The May audit also found the agency did not penalize companies even when it became aware they did not meet targets established in their contracts. It allowed one unidentified business to keep $1.4 million in tax credits after missing job-creation quotas and forgave a combined $1 million in loans to two businesses after the they missed job targets, auditors found. “WEDC cannot be certain about the numbers of jobs created or retained as a result of its awards,” the state’s auditor, Joe Chrisman, said in his report. [Reuters, 08/11/2017]

Perhaps. But between Scott Walker’s history and Foxconn’s, we have many reasons to sound the alarm about taxpayers funding a $3 billion incentive package. … Due to their strict adherence to “free-market” principles, Walker, Vos and their gang have in the past opposed projects that could have transformed the state’s economy — and opposed them specifically because they relied on government funding. But the Foxconn project that they’re lauding would cost state taxpayers an estimated $3 billion at a time when we can’t afford to fix our roads. Even the Koch-backed group Americans for Prosperity has come out against Walker’s proposed deal. [Wisconsin Gazette, 08/11/2017]

“This confirms the concerns about Scott Walker’s Foxconn scheme being a terrible bet with our tax dollars,” commented Scot Ross, executive director of the progressive advocacy group One Wisconsin Now. “Even the best case, rosiest scenario shows Wisconsin taxpayers losing money on this deal for decades.” [Bloomberg, 08/10/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed deal with Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn is floundering in the legislature as the State Assembly delays committee action following a devastating analysis from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Meanwhile, in the State Senate, the leader of the Republican majority suggested he may lack the votes to pass it and revealed he and his colleagues have been excluded from discussions on amendments.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/10/2017]

But the project has run into doubts. Residents of southeastern Wisconsin, where the factory is expected to be built, say they are concerned about the impact of such a massive factory in the region. Environmental advocates have criticized the administration of Mr. Walker, a Republican, for its willingness to bend regulations on the environment so that Foxconn can move more quickly on construction. … His fellow senators have been asking questions about the state’s spending on the project and the tax credits it will offer, he said in an interview. “We want to see milestones, or certainly some kind of schedule on the job creation,” said Mr. Fitzgerald. The latest blow to the project came this week from the state Legislative Fiscal Bureau, a nonpartisan agency that analyzes legislation for lawmakers, which found that Wisconsin taxpayers would not recoup their investment in Foxconn until at least 2043 — a conclusion that alarmed both Democrats and fiscal conservatives. … “This is not a principled approach to economic development,” said Carl Davis, research director at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington. “This is buying jobs at a very high price. And it’s certainly not small government. This is not stepping out of the way and letting the market do what it does.” … Some residents of Paris, a tranquil rural community in the southeastern corner of the state that is among the locations being eyed by Foxconn as a possible site, said they welcomed an influx of jobs that Foxconn could bring. But they said they are blindsided by the way the deal is happening — at lightning speed, with relatively little input from the public and a promise from Mr. Walker that Foxconn can bypass certain regulations protecting the environment. “Right now I have more questions than answers,” said Susan Myres, 45, who sells antiques and farms hay with her husband, Jason. “It sounds like it’s going to be a company that will come in and bulldoze everything. How is it going to change the landscape here? It’s hard to comprehend.” [New York Times, 08/10/2017]

The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau’s analysis of a $3 billion state taxpayer-funded deal proposed by Gov. Scott Walker to lure an electronics factory operated by Taiwanese-based manufacturer Foxconn to Wisconsin would, at best, be a net loser of revenue for nearly three decades. Variables including the percentage of jobs that go to Illinois and other state residents and changing business conditions could delay Wisconsin taxpayers from recouping the billions they are being asked to pay in subsidies for much longer, according to the analysis.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/09/2017]

When governments fund what should be private projects with special tax breaks and subsidies, taxpayers bear the cost. Money that will now go to Foxconn could have instead financed a tax cut for all Wisconsinites whose effective income tax rates are the third-highest in the nation or gone toward a public good such as public safety. And since taxation discourages economic activity (such as a business hiring more workers), every dollar taxed out of the economy actually costs society more than a dollar. When the government taxes a transaction, some people — mainly those who were on the fence about it — will not find it worthwhile to take part as often, or at all. One estimate by Harvard's Martin Feldstein suggests that one dollar in income taxation discourages up to 76 cents of labor exchange. This means that as much as $5.3 billion may be drained from the Wisconsin economy in order to fund a $3 billion transfer to Foxconn. Consumers also lose because deals like this encourage firms to expend valuable time, money and effort currying favor with politicians. Since these efforts create no new wealth, but are instead aimed at simply redirecting existing resources, they are extraordinarily wasteful. When governments allow and even encourage such privilege-seeking activity, a country's best and brightest minds spend their time thinking of new ways to create value for politicians rather than new ways to create value for customers. [Chicago Tribune, 08/09/2017]

A new analysis released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau shows taxpayers would pay to Foxconn Technology Group about $1 billion more than the state received in tax revenues during the first 15 years of the project, and that the state would start to recoup those payments starting in 2043 — or a quarter of a century after the project starts. That estimated break-even date assumes the workforce produced by Foxconn is 13,000 employees and entirely composed of Wisconsin residents. The more out-of-state workers that commute to the plant, the further away the break-even date will be, according to the analysis. [Wisconsin State Journal, 08/09/2017]

According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, it would take at least 25 years for the state's taxpayers to break even on the incentives. However, when asked if the state was buying growth and taking money away from schools and roads, Walker pointed out that while he's been in office, Wisconsin's unemployment rate has gone from 9.2 percent to 3.1 percent. [CNBC, 08/08/2017]

The projections in the report depend on Foxconn following through on several commitments, including an average annual salary of about $54,000, said Rob Reinhardt, a bureau program supervisor. “Any cash-flow analysis that covers a period of nearly 30 years must be considered highly speculative,” the report said. The bureau based its analysis on Foxconn reaching its threshold of 13,000 employees, Reinhardt said. If the actual employment number was 3,000, the break-even point would be so far in the future that it is “silly to talk about,” he said. The report said if 10 percent of projected new jobs from the project were filled by Illinois residents, a concern of several lawmakers, the state would not break even until about 2044. [Reuters, 08/08/2017]

Given that big number, though, it’s still far from a no-brainer for Wisconsin public officials to jump up and claim credit for this one. That’s because the economic impact would be the same if Foxconn paid for everything with its own money. And it’s not going to. There could be more than $3 billion of Wisconsin taxpayer subsidies thrown into the project. Could all that subsidy, spread around a thousand Wisconsin businesses, generate twice as many good jobs as the Foxconn project? What the people of Wisconsin needed was a cost-benefit analysis to answer that question. What they got was Foxconn’s economic impact study — and few things are as useless as one of those when trying to make a good decision. [Star Tribune, 08/05/2017]

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn, who Gov. Scott Walker would like to send up to $3 billion of our tax dollars, has a troubling record when it comes to employee working conditions. According to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the views Foxconn CEO Terry Gou has expressed about his workforce — referring to them as “animals” and seeking management advice from a zoo director — may provide some explanation.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/04/2017]

Illinois recently got a humiliating rejection notice from Foxconn, the Taiwanese tech giant. Foxconn picked Wisconsin over struggling Illinois and other states for the proposed site of a $10 billion LCD panel factory that will employ up to 13,000 people. These mega-projects don't happen every day, so Foxconn's decision hurts because job growth is the only way to solve Illinois' fiscal crisis: More jobs means more tax revenue. What really stings, though, is how the winning site is just across the state line in southeast Wisconsin. It's as if Foxconn settled on the Midwest as a location and then decided: We want to be as near as possible to Illinois without actually being there. [Chicago Tribune, 08/04/2017]

Transformational. The addition of 13,000 high-tech jobs and an investment of $10 billion will indeed be a transformational, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Wisconsin. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/04/2017]

In a prepared statement, Eric Bott , director of Americans for Prosperity Wisconsin, said: “Indeed, we believe our right-to-work law will do more to attract new businesses to Wisconsin than government handouts ever could. However, as much as we believe in Governor Walker’s agenda that has turned this state around, as free market activists who staunchly oppose government tax incentives, we cannot support the expensive refundable tax credits in this package, which are not available to every other business in our state. [Wisconsin Gazette, 08/04/2017]

Mike Browne, deputy director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, said Gou's 2012 comments show lawmakers should be wary of the incentive package Walker is promoting. "The Foxconn CEO’s animosity to workers and his corporation’s documented poor treatment of them is yet another red flag," Browne said in a statement. "Before we spend one dime of our tax dollars to subsidize Foxconn’s operations, there need to be ironclad worker protections written into law." [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/03/2017]

Says Scott Walker "wants state taxpayers to dole out up to $250 million annually in incentives" to Foxconn "to lure a manufacturing plant to Wisconsin that he claims will generate $181 million in tax revenue." [PolitiFact, 08/02/2017]

A proposed deal to lure a factory owned by Taiwanese electronic manufacturer Foxconn to Wisconsin could commit state taxpayers to shelling out $3 billion to the company on the promise of job creation. Supporters of the deal are touting “safeguards” to protect the state from subsidizing Foxconn unless promised jobs appear. But, according to One Wisconsin Now Deputy Director Mike Browne, missing from the legislation is any guarantee that the jobs associated with the construction or ongoing operation of the factory will go to Wisconsin residents.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/02/2017]

What we do know is that Wisconsin won the kind of fight Illinois used to win. And no matter what this state's apologists want to pretend: No, Illinois can't survive on other states' crumbs. [Chicago Tribune, 08/02/2017]

Whether Foxconn follows through in full on its promises, and to what extent it will generate other economic development in Wisconsin, of course, remains to be seen. Chowdhury cited Foxconn’s promises in other places that didn’t come to pass. And two other experts -- Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., and Steven Deller, interim director of the Center for Community and Economic Development at the University of Wisconsin Extension -- told us they think estimates on the Foxconn multiplier effect are too rosy. But whether Wisconsin is making a good deal isn’t part of this fact check. [PolitiFact, 08/02/2017]

And as Walker touted the plant in his Milwaukee stop Tuesday, protesters gathered across the street to voice concerns about wages. The company has been promising salaries of more than $50,000. Yet Peter Rickman of the group Fight for 15 wants to make sure Foxconn doesn't change its mind and pay less than a living wage. The organization is demanding the company pay at least $15 an hour and allow workers to unionize, if they'd like. Another concern for some observers is a provision tucked into the legislation that would require state taxpayers to cover 40 percent of the loans taken out by municipalities for infrastructure costs, if the plant doesn't get off the ground. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos addressed reporters Tuesday, trying to put to rest the worries about both taxpayer's investments and wages. [WUWM-FM, 08/02/2017]

According to media reports, Gov. Scott Walker has launched political campaign ads to tout his proposal to send $3 billion in state tax dollars to Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn to bring a factory to Wisconsin. One Wisconsin Now Deputy Director Mike Browne said the ads around the deal suggest re-election politics were at the front of Gov. Walker’s mind as he negotiated in secret with Foxconn.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/01/2017]

The campaigns of Gov. Scott Walker and House Speaker Paul Ryan will launch digital ads Tuesday touting the decision by Foxconn Technology Group to build a plant in Wisconsin. … The two Republicans are gearing up for the 2018 election, although Walker has yet to formally announce that he's running for a third term. Walker was the point man in negotiations with Foxconn, while Ryan also helped court the Taiwan-based firm. The Walker digital ad focuses on the benefits of the proposed Foxconn deal — which could bring up to 13,000 jobs — and links to a fact sheet. “Foxconn’s investment is a once-in-a-century opportunity to transform Wisconsin’s economy, and an example of Gov. Walker delivering results for hard-working Wisconsin families,” Walker campaign manager Joe Fadness said in a statement. Responding to the Walker ad push, State Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) tweeted: "Is this a good deal for taxpayers or a campaign re-election gimmick? Gov. Walker seems to be blurring the lines." [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/01/2017]

Walker said "at least one if not several other states" were prepared to give the Taiwan-based company more money, although the governor added "it wasn't a huge gap." He didn't indicate which state or states topped the offer or signal how he learned about it. Foxconn also considered sites in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. The company said in a press release last week when it announced that Wisconsin had been selected that it was the first of several expected investments in the country. [Wisconsin State Journal, 08/01/2017]

The company has previously signed letters guaranteeing it would bring factories to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Brazil. The result? Nothing happened. President Trump announced last week that Apple would move manufacturing back to the US, with absolutely no comment or response from Apple, which had previously said it would be extremely challenging to do so. Attempts to build native US manufacturing plants the way Microsoft did (and have now shuttered) underscores the difficulty of going this route. Foxconn is a Chinese company. Its entire supply chain and design are directed towards fulfilling the promises it has made to its customers. Its business model includes housing some 200,000 employees on-site in China — an approach that simply won’t work in Wisconsin, even if it aids people in getting jobs more quickly. In short, don’t hold your breath for Foxconn to actually deliver on these promises in any particular way. Its track record is poor and its business practices not much better. Automation and increased employee productivity — laudable goals in and of themselves — have led to the decline of US manufacturing jobs. As a result, manufacturing’s share of the US economy has fallen from roughly 25 percent in the 1960s to just a little over 8 percent today. If President Trump was serious about improving the lives and existence of American workers, a visit to Walmart or Amazon might be in order, as opposed to Carrier or Foxconn. [ExtremeTech, 07/31/2017]

Trump’s Wisconsin deal with Foxconn comes with an outrageously heavy price tag that will be paid for by Wisconsin taxpayers. If the deal goes through, a big if, Foxconn will receive $3 billion in state tax credits that will have to be covered by increased taxes on everybody else. Economists estimate that in this deal Foxconn receives subsidies equal to between $15,000 to $19,000 per job every year. The tax subsidy on similar corporate deals in the past was less than $2,500 per job. Trump certainly negotiated a great deal, for Foxconn. The Trump-Foxconn deal should also come with a warning label. Foxconn is known for using robots to replace human workers wherever it can and it is also notorious for the treatment of its workforce. In 2015 it announced that it would automate 30 percent of its factories by 2020. At its huge iPhone factory in Longhua, China, there has been a wave of worker suicides. [Huffington Post, 07/31/2017]

Here are three reasons that Wisconsin taxpayers should question this deal. 1. Worldwide, Foxconn 2354, -0.55% sold about $136 billion in goods last year while employing 1.3 million workers. That translates into labor productivity of about $105,000 per worker. That is pretty good given that most of the Foxconn factories are in developing counties. But by American standards that is lousy. By comparison, on a per-worker basis, Wal-Mart Stores WMT, +0.45% sells about twice that value of goods each year. Moreover, Wisconsin-based Harley-Davidson HOG, -0.96% reported sales of $970,309 per worker in the most recent report. That begs the question of just how will Foxconn, which has a profit rate at nearly double Wal-Mart’s, going to remain profitable paying workers close to three times the typical wage for a Wal-Mart worker, but who produce only half as much? That is where the economic development math becomes worrisome. 2. Foxconn claims it is going to create 3,000 jobs, paying on average a little over $53,000 a year. That is about 50 cents an hour higher than the average wage in Wisconsin. However, that figure almost certainly includes all forms of compensation, including health-care plans. So in reality, these workers, who will make liquid-crystal-display screens for TVs and other products, likely will be paid less than the state average, in a state that boasts a 3.2% unemployment rate. From the outset, then, there must be concerns about how this plant can find and keep its workers, without even considering the dubious claim that it can grow to 13,000 workers in just a few years. [Market Watch, 07/31/2017]

The ROC Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said that cross-border corporate investment is the best business model, but it had also hoped that Taiwan would in some way remain beneficial from such deals. Analysts believe that the impact would be minimal and in fact could be beneficial for domestic component groups. [Taiwan News, 07/31/2017]

744 days later, sharing a stage with Donald Trump, the man who defeated him, Walker announced he was giving $3 billion in taxpayer money to a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, Foxconn. The company is best known for making component parts for the iPhone and other Apple products. The stunning deal is 50 times larger than any previous public incentive package. The Foxconn factory will likely be located in the Congressional district of House Speaker Paul Ryan, an Ayn Rand acolyte and avowed champion of free enterprise. Ryan, who joined Trump and Walker for the announcement, lashed out Obama for supporting “big business” with “crony capitalism” in a 2012 column entitled “Republicans Must Return To Free Market Principles.” [Think Progress, 07/31/2017]

Environmental groups are among those with reasons not to like his plan. It would allow Foxconn, without permits, to discharge dredged materials, fill wetlands, change the course of streams, build artificial bodies of water that connect with natural waterways and build on a riverbed or lakebed. Foxconn would also be exempt from having to create a state environmental impact statement, something required for much smaller projects. “Building economic strength, creating jobs, and protecting Wisconsin’s vulnerable natural resources are not mutually exclusive endeavors," Kerry Schumann, executive director of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, said in a prepared statement. [Wisconsin Gazette, 07/30/2017]

But the amount per job that Wisconsin is offering Foxconn dwarfs incentives given for large development projects in many other states, said Timothy Bartik, who has studied state tax incentives for three decades at the nonprofit W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, Mich.“The amount they’re paying per job is very, very high,” Bartik said. “I’m skeptical that the benefits justify the cost.” The package subsidizes Foxconn by between about $15,000 and $19,000 per job, per year, according to state figures. Bartik said his research shows the average state tax subsidy per job, per year, for large projects is about $2,500. [Wisconsin State Journal, 07/30/2017]

Despite that — and the hefty tax incentives Foxconn will command — the company’s promise of thousands of jobs seems to have residents from Lake County north to Milwaukee brimming with optimism. Audra Honsberger, whose family owns Bendtsen’s Bakery, the oldest family bakery in Racine, said she hopes an influx of money into the community will help rebuild the once-bustling area. There’s also hope in Kenosha that the factory — regardless of where it goes — would spur economic development. “It definitely puts Wisconsin on the map again,” said Rachael Cholak, 21, daughter of the owner of Mike’s Chicken and Donuts in Kenosha. “Ten years ago, Kenosha was a ghost town, but it has been developing a lot over the past 10 years. We get a lot of traffic from the highway because we are right between Milwaukee and Chicago. So this should be good.”Others noted the paycheck Foxconn has advertised and the short commute over the border: “If I have a job that paid $54,000, it would be great,” said Jeremy Marshall, 31, of Zion. “Many people in Zion can’t travel very far for work, which is my case, so this would be great.” Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office called the factory “great news for Wisconsin,” noting “Illinois lawmakers should take notice.” [Chicago Sun Times, 07/29/2017]

State Rep. Sheri Jesiel, R-Winthrop Harbor, sees the potential Foxconn factory as providing job opportunities for those in Illinois, but with some downsides, too. Jesiel said there’s talk of ancillary businesses being created in Illinois to help support the factory. But, like Rauner, she noted the business climate in Illinois is not very welcoming. “There are facilities on the east side of the highway in Zion and on the west side in Antioch that are very difficult to fill because why not go a couple of miles north and have property taxes that aren’t as high as what you would pay for here?” Jesiel said. “It’s a huge consideration for employers.” [Chicago Sun Times, 07/29/2017]

The touted average salary, plus benefits, was $53,000. The offices of the majority leader of the Wisconsin state senate and Walker did not respond to questions about what kinds of jobs these would be or what kind of training would be required. Foxconn, which produces screens and assembles cellphones and computers, is particularly known for its work with iPhones. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is a participant in the Foxconn deal. During Walker’s brief presidential run, it was dogged by questions over failed loans. Businessman and Republican donor Ron Van Den Heuvel was indicted for fraudulently borrowing $700,000 from a local bank. Months after WEDC was created in 2011 the agency, then led by Walker, lent him more than $1.2m, without performing a background check. Likewise, the state’s manufacturing and agriculture tax credit has been widely criticized as a simple refund for millionaires, according to the Wisconsin Budget Project (WBP) nearly “wiping out income taxes for manufacturers and agricultural producers”. [The Guardian, 07/29/2017]

In a column sent ahead of Walker’s visit, liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now executive director Scot Ross bemoaned the company’s failure to follow through on promises made to other states. He cited a plan to add hundreds of jobs by way of a plant in Pennsylvania that was promised in 2013 and has yet to be built. A follow-up news release from the organization chastises the $3 billion in tax breaks to the company as part of an incentive package for coming to Wisconsin. “Gov. Walker campaigning around the state isn’t going to change the fact that doling out $250 million a year to a multibillion dollar foreign corporation to get $180 million in state and local taxes is, on its face, a bad deal for us,” the release stated. [Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, 07/28/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker wants state taxpayers to dole out up to $250 million annually in incentives to Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn to lure a manufacturing plant to Wisconsin that he claims will generate $181 million in tax revenue. [Wisconsin State Journal, 07/28/2017]

"Gov. Walker has to some explaining to do to taxpayers in every corner of the state who will foot the bill for this deal on the Illinois border," said Scot Ross, director of the liberal activist group One Wisconsin Now. [Associated Press, 07/28/2017]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements about Gov. Scott Walker’s fly around tour today to let taxpayers in all parts of Wisconsin know how he will be taking more than $3 billion of our tax dollars and sending it to a Taiwanese billionaire.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/28/2017]

"Gov. Walker has to some explaining to do to taxpayers in every corner of the state who will foot the bill for this deal on the Illinois border," said Scot Ross, director of the liberal activist group One Wisconsin Now. [Associated Press, 07/28/2017]

Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker just got what may be the biggest political boost of his career, and it couldn’t have come at a much better time. President Donald Trump’s announcement Wednesday that Wisconsin had won the high-stakes fight to be home to Foxconn’s first U.S. manufacturing plant — a $10 billion investment that could mean 3,000 jobs or more for the state — comes as Walker is preparing to run for a third term. [St.Paul Pioneer Press, 07/28/2017]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) advertise themselves as small-government, free-market conservatives concerned about government waste. But, as the July 27 front-page article “Tech giant, courted by Trump, to build in U.S.” reported, they have carried giveaways to businesses to a ridiculous low. Mr. Walker said the Foxconn factory he wants built in his state would create 13,000 jobs. The economic incentives to Foxconn could total $3 billion, or $230,769 per job created. That astronomical amount of corporate welfare will have to be paid by Wisconsin taxpayers and will leave every other business in the state aggrieved that it didn’t get a similar sweetheart deal. How big is the giveaway? In Montgomery County, Marriott swung a deal with the county to move its headquarters and 3,500 employees to downtown Bethesda in return for $62 million in tax breaks, or $17,714 per job. That figure is bad enough, but the Wisconsin deal is just breathtakingly stupid and will boomerang on the state if it goes through. [Washington Post, 07/28/2017]

"For the last seven years, Scott Walker promised us both 250,000 jobs and accountability when giving out tax breaks to businesses and I think we've gotten neither," said Scot Ross, head of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 07/27/2017]

The company also lists average pay at $53,875 a year, plus benefits. A little math as employed by Scott Ross at One Wisconsin Now suggests the state will spend $250 million to get $181 million in revenue. Other bean counters point out that the state incentives don’t touch the cost of local TIFFS, expenditures, road building, etc., the taxpayers will also have to absorb. [People's World, 07/27/2017]

Scot Ross, executive director of the progressive advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, noted the WEDC is reporting the project will only generate $181 million annually in state and local tax revenue, but the subsidy program has an annual cost of up to $250 million over 15 years. “Talk about the ‘art of the deal,’” Ross said in a statement. “The prospect this secret deal is the best thing for Wisconsin taxpayers is, to say the least, slim. [Bloomberg, 07/27/2017]

Wisconsin is about to shell out as much as $3 billion for the privilege of luring Foxconn Technology Group. At $519 per citizen, it would have been cheaper to buy an iPhone for every man, woman and child in the midwestern state. … There is potential for the payroll to climb to 13,000 in the future -- a figure crucial to Wisconsin justifying the expense -- but I wouldn't bet your 401(k) on it. That's because if Gou really does dish out $10 billion on this facility, the only way to make it viable is by keeping staffing low and leaning on automation to boost productivity. This LCD factory will be either labor intensive or highly automated. It can't be both. … It's important to keep in mind that investment pledges dished up in press releases don't always equate to the final reality. … Three years ago, Gou signed a deal with the government of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital and its biggest city, to invest $1 billion and employ local workers to make electronics. That never happened. Neither did a $30 million high-tech factory in Pennsylvania that was announced a year earlier. … Just this past year, Foxconn is reported to have pledged investments of $5 billion in India; $3.65 billion in Kunshan, China; and $8.8 billion in Guangzhou. It's too early to know if those sums will ever be spent, but including Wisconsin, the tally now stands at $27.5 billion of commitments. That's more than Hon Hai has spent in the last 23 years. Terry Gou didn't get where he is today by blithely spending money on huge factories. Instead, he's learned to entice leaders into thinking big, and then letting them pay. Wisconsin shows that Foxconn isn't building the American Dream -- America is building the Foxconn machine. [Bloomberg, 07/27/2017]

With U.S. unemployment near a 16-year low, it’s hard to imagine recruiting as many as 13,000 workers in any single area of the country would be easy. Wisconsinites say it can be done. … President Donald Trump’s announcement Wednesday that Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group plans to construct a new factory in southeastern Wisconsin and add from 3,000 to 13,000 jobs raised some eyebrows among national economists, who have heard employers complain for years about the lack of skilled workers. Waves of retiring baby boomers and reports of job candidates failing drug tests exacerbate the scarcity amid a 4.4 percent jobless rate and near-record high openings. …The compensation offered for the new roles is the critical part of Foxconn’s ambitious hiring plan, said Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Workers who are currently out of the labor force but need a job are often weighing the pay and benefits against new costs: a car to buy for commuting, fresh work clothes and arrangements for childcare, he said. … What also helps in this case, Clark said, is that Kenosha County already is home to two robust distribution centers built by Amazon.com Inc. and by shipping-material firm Uline Inc. A third site with similar jobs will form a sort of “agglomeration economy” -- as in Silicon Valley, a cluster of same-sector firms that will persuade Americans to move to the area with the confidence that in case of job loss, other opportunities will be available. … If successful, the state also should expect to see knock-on effects of another big employer in the area, with suppliers to Foxconn cropping up as well as an array of services jobs to cater to the new residents. Kurt Bauer, president of the trade group Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, has taken to referring to the state this week as “Wis-Foxconn-sin” and said the free publicity is sure to boost the hiring prospects. What’s more, pay from a Foxconn job will go further for those workers in Wisconsin than it would in neighboring Lake County, Illinois, he said. [Bloomberg, 07/27/2017]

First, Foxconn has a spotty track record of delivering on its promises. The company caused a lot of excitement about a revival of American manufacturing when it announced in 2013 that it would build a $30 million high-tech plant in central Pennsylvania but failed to deliver. The company also announced in 2014 that it would invest up to $1 billion in Indonesia, but failed to deliver on that promise, too. Second, as the Washington Post reported Tuesday, lawmakers and other concerned citizens in Wisconsin are concerned that the state may give away too much in incentives to attract Foxconn. Those concerns are heightened by the facts that Walker is up for re-election next year, has a low approval rating, and has run as a job-creator. Third, it is uncertain whether the promised jobs will be stable and pay a living wage. As for job security, both the BBC and MarketWatch reported in May 2016 that Foxconn had replaced 60,000 of its workers with robots. As for pay, Walker said the jobs would pay $53,000 plus benefits on average. According to Census Bureau data, median income for all residents of Wisconsin in 2015 was $55, 638. So if Walker is correct the new Foxconn jobs would pay right around that median amount. But is he correct? There is some cause for doubt since Foxconn is known for paying a low-wage rather than a living wage. Foxconn is also known for a work environment so harsh it led to employee riots and suicides. The Fair Labor Association — a non-profit formed by Nike and others in 1999 after a series of sweatshop scandals — documented in 2012 major labor-rights violations at Foxconn facilities including excessive overtime and salaries that were too low to cover basic living expenses and sometimes not paid. The company has also been criticized for under-age workers, improper disposal of hazardous wastes, injury to workers required to clean iPhone screens with a toxic chemical, and fatal industrial accidents resulting from the failure to address known hazards. Harsh work conditions at a variety of Foxconn locations in China led to a spate of Foxconn employee suicides in 2010. Foxconn chillingly responded to those suicide attempts by installing safety nets to catch employees attempting to jump to their deaths from company buildings. A company that cared about its employees would have done more to investigate and remediate the conditions that led to the suicides in the first place. [CNBC, 07/27/2017]

But there is also potentially bad news. First, Foxconn has a spotty track record of delivering on its promises. The company caused a lot of excitement about a revival of American manufacturing when it announced in 2013 that it would build a $30 million high-tech plant in central Pennsylvania but failed to deliver. The company also announced in 2014 that it would invest up to $1 billion in Indonesia, but failed to deliver on that promise, too. … Third, it is uncertain whether the promised jobs will be stable and pay a living wage. As for job security, both the BBC and MarketWatch reported in May 2016 that Foxconn had replaced 60,000 of its workers with robots. As for pay, Walker said the jobs would pay $53,000 plus benefits on average. According to Census Bureau data, median income for all residents of Wisconsin in 2015 was $55, 638. So if Walker is correct the new Foxconn jobs would pay right around that median amount. But is he correct? There is some cause for doubt since Foxconn is known for paying a low-wage rather than a living wage. Foxconn is also known for a work environment so harsh it led to employee riots and suicides. The Fair Labor Association — a non-profit formed by Nike and others in 1999 after a series of sweatshop scandals — documented in 2012 major labor-rights violations at Foxconn facilities including excessive overtime and salaries that were too low to cover basic living expenses and sometimes not paid. The company has also been criticized for under-age workers, improper disposal of hazardous wastes, injury to workers required to clean iPhone screens with a toxic chemical, and fatal industrial accidents resulting from the failure to address known hazards. Harsh work conditions at a variety of Foxconn locations in China led to a spate of Foxconn employee suicides in 2010. Foxconn chillingly responded to those suicide attempts by installing safety nets to catch employees attempting to jump to their deaths from company buildings. A company that cared about its employees would have done more to investigate and remediate the conditions that led to the suicides in the first place. [CNBC, 07/27/2017]

Contract manufacturer Foxconn boldly announced plans to build a TV panel factory somewhere in southern Wisconsin and to invest $10 billion in the effort. Foxconn's leader Terry Gou met three times with the President of the United States to seal this deal, said to account initially for 3,000 jobs. Foxconn has a history of vaporware factory announcements, so Wisconsinites ought not get too excited just yet. (The Washington Post has a nice overview of the history—and the potential complications.) As well, the state of Wisconsin will offer $3 billion in tax breaks, meaning its taxpayers will be paying a cool million dollars per job. Still, if Foxconn follows through, it is a huge win for an administration that has hectored foreign and U.S. manufacturers alike to build their wares here. This is, after all, what a bully pulpit is for, and this President is using it. [Fortune, 07/27/2017]

Foxconn's decision to pick Wisconsin as the location for such a major investment is particularly significant, as manufacturing jobs in the region have fallen by almost 25% since the turn of the century. Despite that, however, Wisconsin's unemployment rate stands at 3.2%, lower than the national average. The plant will be located in Southern Wisconsin, House Speaker Paul Ryan's congressional district. "We thank President Trump and Governor Walker for their work to bring Foxconn to Wisconsin," Gou said in a statement. "Wisconsin offers a talented, hardworking workforce, and a long track record in advanced manufacturing, all of which presents an extraordinary opportunity." [International Business Times, 07/27/2017]

News that Foxconn is planning to build a plant in Wisconsin was announced to some fanfare late Wednesday by Gov. Scott Walker and President Donald Trump. Not everyone is cheering. … But the details are important, given Gou’s history of making and breaking promises in numerous countries and regions over the years, including in the U.S. A pledge to invest $30 million in a factory in central Pennsylvania in 2013 was also greeted with much ballyhoo, as reported by the Washington Post. …Four years later, the factory has still not been built, to the disappointment of state officials. They are not alone. In 2014, Foxconn promised a $1 billion investment in Indonesia, which has still not happened, according to the Washington Post. A pledge to invest $5 billion in Vietnam in 2007 has also failed to materialize, nor has the company met its promises for India. Foxconn, which trades as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. 2354, +0.99% has also been under fire over the widely reported issues of working conditions at its existing plants. Foxconn’s China plants have been the scenes of protest and periods of high suicide rates over the years. Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported on the suicide of a 31-year-old man who had worked on the assembly line for just a month. The story highlighted the often harsh conditions for workers, who are housed in gender-separated dorms so that they can be called in at a moment’s notice if Apple changes a design or needs to ramp up supply to meet a spike in demand. [MarketWatch, 07/27/2017]

In a ceremony Thursday, Gov. Scott Walker signed a written commitment that the state would provide up to $3 billion in tax credits and other incentives if Foxconn Technology Group builds out and operates a $10 billion flat-screen plant employing up to 13,000 workers in Wisconsin. But local governments will almost certainly have to put up huge undisclosed subsidies of their own through a financing program known as tax incremental financing. Changes to that program will have to be made to ensure that local governments can finance the sewer lines, streets and other infrastructure to be built in what are now undeveloped fields, according to the memo of understanding with the state. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 07/27/2017]

But the deal with Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics supplier, comes with a heavy price tag for Wisconsin taxpayers: $3 billion in state tax credits that dwarf the typical incentive package companies receive from local governments. Even as Mr. Walker celebrated the news with Foxconn executives at a rally at the Milwaukee Art Museum on Thursday, experts on the political left and right alike said the rewards were not justified by the cost of the tax breaks. Over all, the subsidies for the Foxconn plant, which would produce flat-panel display screens for televisions and other consumer electronics, equal $15,000 to $19,000 per job annually. That compares with $2,457 per year in the usual incentive arrangement, according to Timothy J. Bartik, a senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, Mich. The new Foxconn jobs are expected to have an annual salary of at least $53,000 plus benefits, according to Mr. Walker. [New York Times, 07/27/2017]

MARTIN: And in terms of the number of jobs - if this thing goes through - how many jobs it could actually create, there seems to be a discrepancy. The president spoke of at least 3,000 jobs but as many as 13,000 jobs. FRANKEL: Yeah, I mean, you know, what the problem is that we're sort of starting out, and there's a lot of factors that could happen along the way. You know, this is a great negotiating tactic for Foxconn in terms of, you know, they've got people on board. They really want these things to happen. And they can extract a lot of concessions out of the governments and local leaders at this point because everyone wants those jobs. And so when it comes - push comes to shove, there's all these other factors that they can't control - the business climate, you know, investment climate and all these different things. So it's going to be very difficult to say exactly how many jobs there are going to be in the end. [NPR, 07/27/2017]

But Foxconn has in the past made job promises that don't materialize. It pledged hundreds of jobs and a high-tech factory in Pennsylvania in 2013, but the factory was never built. Einar Tangen, a Beijing-based Chinese economics expert, is skeptical of the promised jobs. He says Foxconn is pushing hard to automate more factories. EINAR TANGEN: I would find it hard to believe that he would have those kind of numbers there. I can see a highly automated factory being staffed at as low levels as possible. JOHNSON: Tangen is among those struggling to understand how states like Wisconsin can afford to offer such massive incentives. The state tax breaks alone would work out to about $230,000 dollars for every job created. But Tangen says a $3 billion tax break is not unusual for a company the size of Foxconn. JOHNSON: At Madison Area Technical College, about an hour and a half's drive from where the Foxconn plant would be built, students are mixed on whether it would be a good investment for the state. Aurey Leslie (ph) is a business student here and is OK with how much the state is spending for Foxconn as long as it creates the promised jobs. Could he see himself building TV screens? AUREY LESLIE: To be, you know, realistic about it, job is a job. You know, if you have a family, man, you really don't have - you know, you can't be choicy. You know, if it helps pays the bills, you have to take it. JOHNSON: Analysts who closely follow Foxconn see it wasn't just tax breaks that brought this plant to this state. They say it's not coincidental that the sites being considered are in House Speaker Paul Ryan's congressional district and in a swing state that helped Donald Trump win the presidency. [NPR, 07/27/2017]

Those robots are going to have to work somewhere, and they’ll most likely find a home at whatever new factories come to the country, even the new ones that Trump claims to have had a hand in wooing to U.S. shores. Factories aren’t built to employ people. They’re built to make money. If it’s ultimately cheaper to buy a machine than pay a salary and medical benefits, robots are more likely to get the job. There’s no promise here that anything will improve for American workers beyond cheaper shipping costs for factory made goods. After all, it’s cheaper to ship an iPhone from California to Chicago than it is from Shanghai. [Slate, 07/27/2017]

Wisconsin offered at least $3 billion in subsidies to iPhone supplier Foxconn to entice the Taiwanese company to build a flat panel screen plant, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Foxconn, which makes screens for Apple products, plans to invest $10 billion in the factory, which has the potential to create 13,000 jobs in House Speaker Paul Ryan’s district. The company must meet job creation and investment targets to be eligible for the subsidies. The package includes a potential $1.5 billion in state income tax credits for creating jobs, up to $1.35 billion in credits for the investing capital, and a potential $150 million in sales tax exemptions on construction materials, according to the Journal Sentinel. [The Daily Caller, 07/27/2017]

Apple supplier Foxconn announced plans to open a new production facility for LCD displays in Wisconsin yesterday. The company and the state of Wisconsin pointed out that the facility's construction would support 10,000 jobs in each of the next four years, as well as 6,000 indirect jobs. Foxconn would eventually employ 13,000 people with an average salary of $54,000. Yesterday, we didn't know how exactly Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker convinced the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer to set down roots in the state. Today, we're getting a better idea. In a phrase: lots and lots of tax breaks. Wisconsin will offer up to $3 billion in tax breaks to the Taiwanese company over 15 years. Up to $1.5 billion of that tax credit is for job creation; $1.35 billion is for capital investment; and up to $150 million is for the sales and use tax exemption (or no sales tax for construction materials). Wisconsin says these incentives will cost between $200 million and $250 million a year. Once fully staffed, the government estimates that Foxconn will spend $700 million a year. Still, the facility won't be operational until 2020, if everything stays on track. … Wisconsin says it's building in protections and that the tax credit is "tied to actual performance" and won't be provided if the company doesn't end up creating jobs or investing capital. Still, Foxconn could ultimately build its facility, hire some people, and rely on automation to offset initial cost. The promise of manufacturing jobs could be better than reality. [The Verge, 07/27/2017]

HONG KONG — Taiwan-based contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group says it plans to build a $10 billion plant in Wisconsin to make liquid-crystal display panels, or LCDs. Little known to consumers, the maker of iPhones and other gadgets is a giant in the electronics industry thanks to its dominant position in the global manufacturing supply chain. LABOR STRIFE: Like other contract manufacturers, Foxconn has struggled to meet high safety and other standards expected of consumer electronics brands while keeping costs low. Its Chinese plants making Apple products, especially, have drawn attention for worker suicides, accidents and labor disturbances. Labor advocates say the company imposes excessive overtime and pressure on workers, especially when it ramps up production ahead of new iPhone launches. Gou, who reportedly has worked 16-hour days for the past three decades, has raised wages and pledged to prevent more deaths. [Washington Post, 07/27/2017]

The plant — announced Wednesday at a White House ceremony by President Donald Trump, Walker and others — could be the first of several facilities the company wants to build in the United States. “It starts today with this investment in Wisconsin,” Foxconn chairman Terry Gou said at the White House. The Wisconsin facility is expected to employ 3,000 people initially and add up to 10,000 more workers in future years. [Wisconsin State Journal, 07/27/2017]

Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker just got what may be the biggest political boost of his career, and it couldn’t have come at a much better time. President Donald Trump’s announcement Wednesday that Wisconsin had won the high-stakes fight to be home to Foxconn’s first U.S. manufacturing plant — a $10 billion investment that could mean 3,000 jobs or more for the state — comes as Walker is preparing to run for a third term. It not only gives Walker’s job-creation credentials a jolt but also allows him to further distance himself from his biggest failure — not fulfilling his 2010 campaign promise to create 250,000 jobs in four years. … Foxconn’s promise to hire 3,000 people — and maybe as many as 13,000 eventually — will give Walker something to run on that Democrats will have a hard time deflecting.“In politics there are ups and downs,” said Democratic Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, who represents a part of the state near where the plant would locate. “Obviously this would be a plus for him and the entire state, potentially,” Barca said. “But one deal does not make an administration. I don’t think he could point to one deal and say this is what he has accomplished in seven or eight years of governing.” … Even longtime Democratic critics had a hard time saying anything bad about the deal. “Ten-thousand good-paying, family sustaining jobs for Wisconsin is a great thing for our state — period,” said Milwaukee businessman Andy Gronik, who is challenging Walker next year. “This should not be a partisan issue.” But Gronik and other Democrats called for transparency in the deal cut by the state. Democratic state Sen. Chris Larson said Walker has “left a trail of broken promises” and that voters shouldn’t be convinced the jobs will come. [WITI-TV, 07/27/2017]

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn announced today that it intends to locate a company facility in the state of Wisconsin in exchange for a secretly negotiated incentive package reputed to cost taxpayers multiple billions of dollars in the coming years.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/26/2017]

Wisconsin has a hard-working, well-qualified workforce and limitless potential if we believe and invest in ourselves. Or we can join a desperate race to the bottom that mortgages our future for the short-term political gain of Gov. Walker and his fellow Republicans. [Capital Times, 07/26/2017]

Foxconn said the deal will create 3,000 jobs. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said the agreement could eventually grow to 13,000 jobs, with 22,000 indirect and induced jobs and 10,000 construction jobs. Walker said it could also help the state attract and retain talent. … When asked if the fact that Wisconsin, a swing state, voted for Trump during the election factored into the deal, the official said there were "a lot of factors" such as workforce and relationship with state leadership that factored into the decision. Trump said Wisconsin is a major job creator and close to his heart. "We were very clear that Foxconn had to select a state in which they could be successful," the official said. [CNBC, 07/26/2017]

The firm will invest $10 billion in Wisconsin to build a new manufacturing plant that produces LCD panels. The project will create 13,000 new jobs and should be completed by 2020, according to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Foxconn's estimate on jobs was more conservative. In a statement, the company said the project will create 3,000 jobs with the "potential" to generate up to 13,000 new jobs. … However, Gou has been talking about shifting some manufacturing to the United States for several years, with little to show for it so far. In 2013, for example, Foxconn announced plans to build a $30 million plant in Pennsylvania. It has yet to be built. Foxconn got some generous tax incentives for its Wisconsin venture. The state's deal for the new plant, which requires legislative approval, includes incentives totaling as much as $3 billion, Walker said. The details of the incentive package would be announced in the coming days, he said. … At its peak, Foxconn employed more than one million people. Employees live on factory campuses and have been known to work far more hours for far less pay than would be acceptable under U.S. labor laws.At times, Foxconn's workplace demands have resulted in worker riots and suicides. In fact, Foxconn installed nets outside buildings to catch workers trying to jump to their deaths. It's also unclear if Wisconsin, or any state for the matter, can supply Foxconn with the thousands of skilled laborers it would need to manufacture electronics at scale. [CNN Tech, 07/26/2017]

The unprecedented $3 billion incentive package Wisconsin used to woo Foxconn was well worth it and is likely to undergo a vote by the Wisconsin Legislature in August. [Milwaukee Business Journal, 07/26/2017]

Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics supplier for Apple and other tech giants, said Wednesday it would open its first major American factory in Wisconsin, a boost both for the battleground state’s economy and the Trump administration’s efforts to bolster domestic manufacturing. White House officials noted President Trump’s direct negotiations with Foxconn for the project, which they said would create at least 3,000 jobs and represent a $10 billion investment.Foxconn’s announcement could yield significant political benefits for the company and for the White House. Although based in Taiwan, much of the company’s production is done in China, and Mr. Trump has singled out Beijing’s trade practices for attacks.Mr. Walker said Foxconn’s investment could indirectly result in an additional 22,000 new jobs, with its planned 20-million-square-foot complex occupying a footprint three times the size of the Pentagon. Known formally as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Foxconn is the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer. It has promised to invest in the United States before, most notably a $30 million, 500-worker plant in Pennsylvania that was never built. That history left some experts skeptical of the company’s latest commitment, and of the White House’s eagerness to claim credit for a major economic victory. “I’ll be excited about the Foxconn announcement when workers are getting paychecks in Wisconsin,” said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a nonprofit partnership of domestic manufacturers and the United Steelworkers union. “Foxconn has a history of talking big and not necessarily delivering on their commitments.” [New York Times, 07/26/2017]

The move by Foxconn to open its first major factory in the United States is a break with global manufacturing trends over the past 30 years. Foxconn builds electronic gadgets for nearly every major technology company, including Apple, Google and Amazon.com, in massive factories in Asia, South America and Eastern Europe. But until now, it has had a very limited presence in developed countries where labor costs are higher. The workers it hires at its Wisconsin facility would represent a tiny fraction of the company’s workforce of 1.2 million. And officials gave contradictory numbers on exactly how many jobs Foxconn was creating in the state. Walker, a Republican who is facing a difficult reelection next year, said the investment would create 13,000 jobs, with an average pay of $53,000 plus benefits. But the company said that it would be hiring 3,000 workers over four years. It added that it could eventually hire more but did not provide further details. The governor also said his state would offer $3 billion in economic incentives to seal the deal. The high cost drew criticism from Democrats lawmakers in Wisconsin. The deal was announced in the East Room of the White House, reflecting its political importance for Trump and Walker. But Foxconn has made splashy job announcements in the past that have not quite panned out. In 2013, the company earned headlines for a plan to invest $30 million and hire 500 workers for a new high-tech factory in central Pennsylvania. The state’s governor boasted about the deal. Economists wrote think pieces explaining how this was the leading edge of a U.S. manufacturing renaissance. But once the attention died down and the politicians moved on, Foxconn never followed through with its plans in Pennsylvania. [Washington Post, 07/26/2017]

Walker, a Republican who is facing a difficult reelection next year, said the investment would create 13,000 jobs, with an average pay of $53,000 plus benefits. But the company said that it would be hiring 3,000 workers over four years. It added that it could eventually hire more but did not provide further details. The governor also said his state would offer $3 billion in economic incentives to seal the deal. The high cost drew criticism from Democrats lawmakers in Wisconsin. [Washington Post, 07/26/2017]

But building a plant in the state also spurs questions about whether Wisconsin can supply the amount of workers Foxconn may need - and whether taxpayers can shoulder a cost to land the company that may run in the billions… Still's estimate of what it may cost Wisconsin to land Foxconn, based on comparable offers by other states to lure other companies, was between $2 billion and $3 billion over a period of decades. Such a massive sum might not be outweighed by the economic benefits of landing Foxconn, said Steven Deller, a UW-Madison economist. "If it's in the billions in terms of incentives, I think that's going to be a bad deal for Wisconsin," Deller said… Some questioned if Wisconsin, with its modest population and low unemployment rate, could supply the workers Foxconn needs. State Assembly Republicans, in a recently released memo, said "Foxconn has indicated its desire to locate in southeastern Wisconsin with up to 10,000 jobs." [Wisconsin State Journal, 07/26/2017]

After months of speculation, the rumors were confirmed Wednesday, July 26th: Electronics maker Foxconn is coming to Wisconsin. The big news has drawn mixed reaction from residents in Racine County. For those along Braun Road, just south of Highway 11 in Mount Pleasant, their backyards will likely be the site of the new plant. While many people in Racine County said they're excited about the news, those living near the expected site said it comes at the expense of their homes. "I poured my heart and soul into it. I can't imagine leaving and finding another home like it again," said Sherri Shaver. Amid hundreds of acres of corn, pumpkins and other crops, is the barn Shaver has called home for the past 23 years. The Mount Pleasant resident said the farmers who own the majority of the land have been offered deals to sell their property to make way for the Foxconn plant. "All the neighbors are really upset because the homeowners, if we just get the value of our property, then we have to find something. We know we're not going to find something like what we have, and then all of a sudden you just have to leave. It wasn't our choice," said Shaver. [WITI-TV, 07/26/2017]

With anticipation rising that Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn will soon announce plans for its U.S. facilities, sources expect the open land south of Highway 20 in Racine County is the location. [Milwaukee Business Journal, 07/25/2017]

Wisconsin Democrats say they welcome new jobs in the state, but they want to wait and see if Foxconn delivers before getting too excited about news the Taiwan company plans to build a manufacturing plant in the state. Democratic state Sen. Chris Larson said Wednesday that Wisconsin has been "deceived by Walker's rose-tinted glasses before." And Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling says she welcomes new businesses to the state, but she wants to ensure they are offered a living wage and have safe working conditions. She and other Democrats say they are concerned about a potential of billions of dollars in state incentives being sent to Foxconn to seal the deal. Gov. Scott Walker was in Washington for an announcement on the Foxconn plant with President Donald Trump. Foxconn dangles Pa. investment he states that do end up landing Foxconn will likely offer large incentive packages. For instance, Wisconsin is reportedly working on incentives to attract Foxconn, and Michigan legislators passed a new tax incentive program earlier this month that includes a perk for employers that create at least 3,000 jobs. And, even then, Foxconnfollowing through is hardly a guarantee. Consider the example of Harrisburg, where Foxconnhas a small operation and, in 2013, announced intentions to spend $30 million on a new plant that would employ up to 500. For that project, DCED officials met with Foxconn representatives on various occasions and showed them potential locations for the planned site, but the project did not come to fruition. [The Morning Call, 07/25/2017]

“If you look at the Foxconn plan and the states that they’re considering, it didn’t surprise me that so many of them happen to be swing states,” Caroline Freund, an economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said in this week’s episode of the Decrypted podcast… Yet there’s less business rationale for favoring the Midwest over other places, according to Freund and other analysts. The region is isolated from many of Foxconn’s customers, has mediocre transport connections and fewer skilled workers than other regions. Contract manufacturers like Foxconn also lean on extensive supplier ecosystems on their doorstep in Chinese cities like Shenzhen and Zhengzhou. The U.S. Midwest doesn’t have those networks. Manufacturing wages in southern states such as Georgia and Alabama are about 10 percent cheaper than in the Midwest, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And they have legislation that prohibits collective bargaining agreements between labor unions and employers -- something Ohio lacks. [Bloomberg Technology, 07/24/2017]

The company has a history of teasing communities without much follow-through, the Washington Post reported March 3.The article focused on Harrisburg, Pa., where Foxconn announced in 2013 it would build a $30 million factory and hire 500 workers. It never happened. In 2014, Foxconn announced it was considering building an LCD display factory in the U.S. Foxconn officials discussed the idea with Colorado and Arizona officials, but nothing came of it… Michigan's new tax incentive program would offer up to $200 million for qualifying companies that could keep some or all of the income taxes that new employees would otherwise pay to the state. [The Herald-Palladium, 07/22/2017]

State officials and lawmakers are working on an incentive package to lure giant Taiwanese iPhone manufacturer Foxconn to Wisconsin. If lawmakers settle on an incentive package, it won't be in the 2017-19 state budget, but moves to help fund the package could be part of current budget negotiations, Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, said in an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal. [Wisconsin State Journal, 07/21/2017]

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald told The Associated Press on Thursday that "huge, big numbers" are being talked about to help land Foxconn, but he had no direct knowledge of what may be offered. "I know they're working on a (deal) but we don't have anything yet," he said. Earlier Thursday Fitzgerald told WKOW-TV that Gov. Scott Walker's office and state economic development officials have been "kept very close to the vest until they have something."... "This is something we have to take seriously if they decide to come to Wisconsin," Olsen said of incentives for Foxconn. "We have to make sure we're in fiscal shape to fulfill the obligations that are being presented to Foxconnto come to Wisconsin." [Associated Press, 07/20/2017]

“They do this everywhere they go,” said Einar Tangen, a Beijing-based Chinese economic expert, echoing the views of many Asian experts. “They extract everything they can.” Before that, the US citizen was engaged just as intensely in economic development in Wisconsin, where he went to college, achieved a law degree and served on multiple boards, including chairman of the state’s International Trade Council. Tangen’s East-West perspectives give him timely insight just as Wisconsin’s politicians labour to lure Foxconn, the largest supplier of made-in-China consumer electronics, to build a multibillion-dollar production facility… “Free land, subsidies, tax abatements, money to support research and development - anything that can be of value,” Tangen said, echoing views expressed elsewhere among Asian analysts. Chinese authorities even subsidize minimum-level wages, which already are unimaginably low by American standards...Southeastern Wisconsin “isn’t a tech haven,” said Tangen, a graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton who achieved a law degree from Marquette University Law School. “It doesn’t even have a large available cheap workforce to draw on.” Foxconn has begun to expand beyond its traditional production base in China, but focuses on other low-cost tech-savvy developing nations such as India, where it is building a major facility. “If I stay in India, I can pay low wages, they speak English, they work long hours, they have wonderful tech schools,” Tangen said. “None of this makes sense to me, in terms of Wisconsin. It’s just too high cost… “Hon Hai’s interest in investing in Wisconsin, as opposed to any other US state, is no stronger than the state’s package of incentives,” the Hong Kong securities analyst said. “If you search carefully for what Terry Gou has said about production in the US, you’ll find that government incentives and a high degree of automation are elements of his thinking.”...Costs always drive manufacturing decisions, Xinhua said. “Cost is the ultimate force that drives industrial transfer,” adding that the quest for lower costs drove the American electronics industry to Japan several decades ago, and then eventually to China. [The Gulf Today, 07/19/2017]

The chairman of Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconnsaid Thursday it may spend more than $10 billion to set up manufacturing in the United States, and will announce investment plans by August for at least three states… Foxconn already has operations in Pennsylvania. Gou said that an agreement announced four years ago to invest in Harrisburg, Pa., was still pending. Expansion into the United States would reduce Foxconn's reliance on China, where it employs about 1 million people. Working conditions at the company's Asian factories have been criticized by human rights and labor organizations. [Associated Press, 06/22/2017]

Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch told The Associated Press that she met with Foxconno fficials during a trade mission in 2015 that took her and other state economic development officials to Japan and Taiwan. Foxconnsaid in January it is looking to make a $7 billion investment in the United States and employ as many as 50,000 people. Kleefisch said she had a "great, general wide-ranging conversation" with Foxconn officials about what Wisconsin had to offer - including an educated workforce, access to ports and other transportation networks, manufacturing building capacity - but did not go into detail about what it may be considering for the state… Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder both flew to Japan the same weekend two weeks ago. Snyder since confirmed it was to speak with Foxconnofficials, while Walker's office has said it was only to pursue an economic development opportunity. [Associated Press, 06/19/2017]

Wisconsin added fewer than 12,000 private-sector jobs in 2016, badly lagging job gains in past years under Gov. Scott Walker’s tenure, new Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. Private-sector wages also declined in the state last year by about $188 million, or 0.6 percent, according to the data, released Friday by the state Department of Workforce Development.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 05/27/2017]

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. still doesn’t do a good job of tracking how many jobs it creates and the agency struggles in other areas — even as it has improved how it hands out state taxpayer dollars — according to a new legislative audit. … Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Green Bay, co-chairman of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, said in response to the audit that “a cloud will continue (to) remain over the agency until they can accurately verify data being received from award recipients.”

[Wisconsin State Journal, 05/18/2017]

The Legislature’s budget committee on Thursday tossed aside Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to freeze tuition at technical colleges and restructured a program for buying environmentally friendly buses. The Joint Finance Committee also signed off on expanding a property tax break for Marquette University, potentially shifting the tax burden to other homeowners and businesses in Milwaukee. In a daylong session, the committee also set the stage for the state Supreme Court’s chief justice to review decisions on unemployment insurance, workers compensation and equal rights in the workplace. That could lead to changes in future rulings in those areas.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/18/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker’s troubled economic development agency is still struggling, failing to accurately track jobs its awards are supposed to create and retain, handing out nearly $10 million in bad loans over the last two years and failing to turn over millions in tax credit repayments to the state, an audit released Wednesday shows. The report from the Legislative Audit Bureau amounts to yet another black eye for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. The agency has faced frequent scrutiny over its operations since Walker and GOP lawmakers created it in July 2011 to replace the Department of Commerce. The agency has failed to recover loans made to troubled companies, given out $126 million without a formal review and experienced high turnover in top positions.

[Associated Press, 05/17/2017]

While the professor's numbers suggest a correlation between the tax credit and job creation, the liberal group One Wisconsin Now said the Walker administration itself could not back up any claims of job growth due to the credit. [Lakeland Times, 04/25/2017]

 In recent testimony before the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance, Gov. Scott Walker’s Department of Revenue (DOR) Secretary Rick Chandler declared that a runaway manufacturing and ag tax giveaway to the wealthy and corporations enacted in the 2011 state budget is helping create jobs. But in response to an open records request by One Wisconsin Now seeking documentation to back up Chandler’s job creation claim the agency replied: “We do not have any such records.”

[One Wisconsin Now, 04/19/2017]

Walker said: “Wisconsin’s economy is in the best shape it’s been since 2000.” The latest figures for the unemployment rate, wages and gross domestic product support Walker’s claim. But the figures for labor participation rate, income and poverty do not. For a statement that is partially accurate, our rating is Half True.

[PolitiFact, 04/13/2017]

A proposal in Gov. Scott Walker’s state budget appears to make Wisconsin the only state with no law aimed at guaranteeing students a minimum number of hours and days of instruction. Walker’s budget plan eliminates the state law that calls for public schools and private voucher schools to provide a minimum number of hours of instruction. It would also free virtual charter schools from having to ensure that teachers are available for direct pupil instruction for a minimum number of hours each year.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 04/03/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday hailed the move by Haribo coupled with the recent opening of a cardboard box factory employing 120 workers in Beloit, a Mills Fleet Farm distribution center employing 325 workers in Chippewa Falls and Thursday’s news that the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 percent in February as signs the state’s economy is getting sweeter.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 03/24/2017]

The day after a new statewide poll showed his approval ratings remain negative, Gov. Scott Walker convened a press conference to make what he touted was an important economic announcement.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/23/2017]

“On behalf of the state, I want to thank HARIBO for its decision to establish its North American manufacturing operations in Kenosha County, and I applaud the company for its commitment to Wisconsin,” Governor Walker said in a statement.

[WITI-TV, 03/23/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker is brushing off a Milwaukee newspaper article claiming Wisconsin is about 60,000 jobs short of his 2010 promise to create 250,000 private-sector jobs in four years. Walker told the Rotary Club of Milwaukee on Tuesday that he’s adjusted that pledge, saying he’s focusing on getting more people trained for the workforce. “I qualify that now saying … I got more people employed than ever before,” Walker said. “You ask people on the street who are hiring, it’s not how many jobs are created, it’s how many people are there to fill them. And so, I’ve shifted from that, and said my number one issue is workforce. I need to find those people.”

[WPR, 03/14/2017]

More than six years ago as a candidate for governor, Republican Scott Walker promised that if he was elected, the state would add 250,000 private-sector jobs in four years. That goal continues to be elusive. A report issued Thursday by the state Department of Workforce Development includes the final job creation tally for 2016, allowing a look at six complete years under Walker. The latest report showed that the state lost 4,000 jobs in December, putting total state private-sector employment at 2,516,100.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 03/12/2017]

In 2013, Foxconn’s chairman sent a jolt through this state capital when he said his company — best known for making Apple iPhones in China — would invest $30 million and hire 500 workers for a new high-tech factory in central Pennsylvania. Locals were giddy. Foxconn had a small office here, but this seemed like the start of an entire new industry. Pennsylvania’s governor boasted about the deal. The Brookings Institution think tank hailed Foxconn’s decision as a sign of U.S. manufacturing’s strength. But the factory was never built. The jobs never came. “It just seemed to fade to black” after the announcement, recalled a local official. It was the start of a mystery, created by a chief executive known to promise projects all over the world that never quite pan out. Yet few people seem to notice. Foxconn and others continue to get credit for deals that never take place. In December, Pennsylvania’s economic development staff was still touting the $30 million factory that never was…In 2014, as the Pennsylvania deal was quietly dying, Gou teased the opening of a LCD display factory in the states. His company talked with officials in Colorado and Arizona. Nothing happened. That same year, the company signed a letter of intent to invest up to $1 billion in Indonesia. That investment still has not occurred. Foxconn said it would invest $5 billion over five years in India as part of an ambitious expansion in 2014. The deal would create up to 50,000 jobs, Gou said. But Foxconn’s investment in India has amounted to only a small fraction of what it originally promised.Similar results were seen in Vietnam, where Foxconn committed to a $5 billion investment in 2007, and in Brazil, where Foxconn spoke of a $10 billion plan in 2011. The company made its first major foray in Vietnam only last year. In Brazil, Foxconn has an iPhone factory, but its investment has fallen far short of expectations…State officials toured potential sites with Foxconn representatives, the state Department of Community and Economic Development said in a statement. “Unfortunately, a project did not come to fruition.” Foxconn attributed the failure to “material changes to the business and operating climate at that time.” [Washington Post, 03/03/2017]

Economic development officials in rural Wisconsin spurred Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to revive a troubled state loan program that was phased out two years ago after some loans were never repaid and the state lost millions, the governor said Tuesday” … The Wisconsin State Journal first reported that Walker is seeking to reinstate the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.’s loan program two years after calling for it to be phased out this year amid several questionable deals and a scathing audit. Walker scrapped the program in 2015 as the State Journal was preparing to publish an investigation showing that the governor’s top secretary pressed WEDC to offer a failing construction company a $500,000 taxpayer loan that has not been repaid. The agency couldn’t provide documentation of a proper financial review of the company, and a subsequent review prompted by the newspaper’s investigation found documentation missing for more than two dozen other awards totaling more than $124 million.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 02/15/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker joined local and state leaders Friday in marking the transformation of a former downtown factory into a loft-style apartment complex and art gallery… The governor praised the apartment project for providing affordable housing options in the community and for earmarking a quarter of the units for potential lease by veterans. “This is going to be an outstanding addition here to Manitowoc,” Walker said during the ceremony, afterward adding that “it’s a great way to revitalize a building and give it new purpose.”

[Herald Times Reporter, 07/22/2016]

"Instead of hearing about what's really on the minds of Wisconsinites who overwhelmingly disapprove of the job he's doing, Gov. Walker is tooling around the state on our dime hearing from an exclusive audience recruited to tell him what he wants to hear," said Mike Browne, deputy director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. [Capital Times, 07/15/2016]

Gov. Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has amassed an appalling record of cronyism, corruption and incompetence. Instead of seeking reforms to improve it’s performance, a media report reveals Gov. Walker’s WEDC is seeking to impose what amounts to a gag order on members of the Board of Directors at its next meeting.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/13/2016]

Late Tuesday, a state court of appeals judge granted Attorney General Brad Schimel’s request to reinstate the law while the appeals court decides whether it’s constitutional. The ruling was issued by Lisa K. Stark, the presiding judge for the District 3 Court of Appeals in Wausau. “We feel confident the law will ultimately be found constitutional, as it has been in more than half the states across the country,” said Johnny Koremenos, spokesman for Schimel. Last year, Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-led Legislature made Wisconsin the 25th right-to-work state.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/23/2016]

As the unemployment rate continues to fall, it is spreading all sorts of positive news throughout the state. But it is also putting more pressure on businesses in the Chippewa Valley and throughout Wisconsin to find workers. That was one of the messages delivered by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Friday at the Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation’s annual meeting Friday morning, in the Hawthorne Aviation Hangar at the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport.

[Chippewa Herald, 05/20/2016]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will travel to Mexico in June to promote exporting opportunities and encourage foreign investment in Wisconsin. The governor will join representatives from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection on the trade mission, which runs June 12-17.

[Milwaukee Business Journal, 05/12/2016]

The Wisconsin job outsourcing business that hosted Gov. Scott Walker when he signed a wrong for Wisconsin right to work law is now suggesting it may be up for sale to, “enhance shareholder value”. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross termed “pathological” the quest for corporate profits at the expense of workers.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/05/2016]

Gov. Scott Walker has approved a rule implementing drug screening requirements for unemployment benefits. The rule implements provisions in the state budget. Under the rule, those who fail an employer drug test or refuse to take one can be denied unemployment benefits. Those who fail would get taxpayer-funded treatment. Walker announced the new rule Wednesday, saying it brings the state one step closer to moving residents from government dependence to independence.

[WMTV-TV, 05/04/2016]

“The travel and hospitality industry continues to be an important and strong performing sector for Wisconsin’s economy,” said Gov. Scott Walker. “Investing in tourism promotion and marketing at the national, state and local level is not only an effective way to attract visitors and grow the economy, it also enhances the image of the state as a place to live and do business.” The 2015 results reflect a strong growth trend over the last five years, when the state has seen tourism’s economic impact grow 30 percent. Tourism also supports 190,717 jobs in Wisconsin, up 11 percent compared with five years ago.

[Milwaukee Business Journal, 04/29/2016]

In May 2014, One Wisconsin Now ran the numbers on WEDC loans and found that nearly 60 percent of some $975 million in assistance distributed by WEDC since 2011 went to firms that had contributed to Walker or the Republican Governor’s Association. "This new audit confirms that WEDC is the embodiment of the cronyism, corruption and incompetence of the Walker administration,” One Wisconsin Now’s Scot Ross told CMD. [Center for Media and Democracy, 04/21/2016]

Taxpayers have spent $60 million on new work requirements that have kicked three times as many Wisconsinites off of food benefits than those who found jobs. One year after the state began forcing people to work or actively look for jobs in order to remain on the FoodShare assistance program, a report released Wednesday showed that 11,971 people had found jobs. Meanwhile, 41,149 people lost benefits after not meeting the requirement. Gov. Scott Walker promoted the program as a success on Wednesday, April 20 at a J.C. Penney customer call center in Wauwatosa. The company has hired 50 workers from the state’s Milwaukee County job placement contractor, Walker said. “We’re empowering people to live their own lives and control their own destinies from the dignity that really comes from work,” Walker told reporters. Walker said a top goal of the program was reducing the cost of FoodShare for taxpayers… “This program and the other programs like it around the state help provide great individuals with great work ethic, with great training, to be able to come into the workforce and fill those positions,” the governor said.

[WITI-TV, 04/20/2016]

Walker declined a request for an interview to discuss his vision for higher education in Wisconsin. Spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said he has sought to “make college more affordable while helping students get career-ready earlier.” “Walker’s top priority for higher education reform has been on helping Wisconsin students and working families to afford a great college education,” Patrick said. “Connecting students and workers with the skills needed in today’s workforce is an important economic development initiative.” According to Patrick, the four-year freeze on in-state undergraduate tuition championed by Walker and the Legislature has saved students thousands of dollars, given the rate at which tuition costs had been rising at UW institutions. Walker has also worked with UW System officials to push for changes that reduce the time it takes students to get a degree, Patrick said. Wisconsin’s technical colleges have traditionally focused on job training, Radomski said. But Walker has pushed the UW System to make preparing students for the workforce a higher priority, Radomski said, with less of an emphasis on research or broader undergraduate education.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 03/27/2016]

While the policy has been in place since at least 2008, the agency’s monthly and quarterly employment data came under intense scrutiny after Gov. Scott Walker promised to add 250,000 private sector jobs during his first term, prompting the agency exert greater control over shaping the message around those numbers.

[La Crosse Tribune, 03/15/2016]

Gov. Scott Walker gave the opening address at the Wisconsin Governor’s Conference on Tourism, speaking to about 900 people at the Ho Chunk convention center near Wisconsin Dells. Walker updated the audience with the state of Wisconsin’s tourism and its impact on the economy. “Investing in our tourism industry is great for Wisconsin and for our taxpayers,” Walker said. “Last year the advertising campaigns developed by tourism reached hundreds of thousands of people and we saw more visitors to our state, which resulted in higher tax revenue.” Walker said that for every dollar spent in 2015 on tourism advertising, “eight dollars came back to the state in the form of incremental tax revenues.”

[Wisconsin Dells Events, 03/14/2016]

In the days after the Oscar Mayer announcement, Gov. Scott Walker pointed out that Soglin never contacted his office or WEDC. In Thursday’s interview, Soglin maintained that Madison made no mistakes.“We’re the ones who are supposed to be more brilliant than them?” Soglin asked. “This is their function. This is their job. We did our job. We contacted Oscar Mayer.”

[Wisconsin State Journal, 03/04/2016]

A media report breaking late this afternoon revealed the state big business lobby, the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, told Gov. Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) not to reach out to Kraft Heinz in June of 2015. The directive came months before the parent company of Oscar Mayer announced it would shutter its Madison plant and move the corporate headquarters out of Wisconsin, directly costing the state roughly 1,000 jobs.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/02/2016]

Wisconsin is one of the few states reducing aid to higher education, which isn’t a path to prosperity. Wisconsin needs to invest in its colleges to compete in a global economy and secure more good-paying jobs…Even with the governor’s tuition freeze, the cost of higher education is a much heavier load than it used to be…

[Wisconsin State Journal, 01/31/2016]

The fact is that Gov. Scott Walker’s rabid anti-union agenda has been a disaster for the economy of Wisconsin, which remains in the bottom third of states for job growth.

[Chicago Tribune, 01/29/2016]

Scott Walker on Tuesday touted Wisconsin’s comeback from the Great Recession even as the Republican governor seeks his own recovery from an unsuccessful presidential run last year. “There are more people working in Wisconsin than at nearly any other point in our history; state finances are stable; our school students are doing well overall; college tuition is frozen; and property and income taxes are down from 2010,” Walker told lawmakers in a 40-minute speech. The state budget remains relatively tight — and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said Tuesday that new estimates on tax revenues would leave it still tighter.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 01/19/2016]

On Oct. 29, in response to a separate request for records by liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, DOA lawyer Elisabeth Winterhack also cited the new “transitory” records retention policy in explaining why police logs of anticipated visitors to the Governor’s Mansion weren’t maintained. Jenni Dye, research director for One Wisconsin Now, said she doesn’t believe the police logs meet the definition of “transitory” records. [Capital Times, 01/16/2016]

Gov. Scott Walker says Wisconsin continues to rank relatively low in job creation because not enough people are ready to join the workforce. New data from the U.S Labor Department shows Wisconsin ranked 37th among states in adding private jobs during the 12 months ending last June, with an employment increase of 1.5 percent. Wisconsin is 32nd over the last five years. Walker said that more companies would add jobs if more workers were job-ready. “Employers have increasingly told us, we’ve seen it even in some of the Chamber (of Commerce) surveys, that until we can get more people in the workforce, employers aren’t going to add more work until they can fill the positions that are vacant right now,” Walker said. He said he doesn’t know many additional jobs be created, but pointed out that Wisconsin ranks relatively high in the percentage of people in the workforce. Walker told a business group in Milwaukee Friday that the state wants to help get more unemployed people off drugs and into jobs.

[WPR, 12/18/2015]

“Everybody who wants a job should be able to find a job,” Walker said. “A simple phrase but not always the most simple to implement.” Walker was upbeat about the possibility of securing a job because the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) lists between 80,000 and 100,000 job openings monthly. He also noted 15,100 new jobs were added in the private sector in October and 43,000 new private sector jobs were added for the last 12 months from October to October.

[Sawyer County Record, 12/11/2015]

In May of this year, Governor Scott Walker proposed a bill requiring that anyone applying for public assistance be required to complete a screening questionnaire for illegal drug use. Those deemed at risk would be drug tested before benefits could be awarded; a positive drug test would have resulted in denial of benefits and referral to a free treatment program paid for by the state. This bill was included in the proposed 2015-2017 state budget.

[TheClarion, 12/10/2015]

Walker said that from 2010-2014, median household income in Wisconsin “has actually gone up 7.4 percent.” In the best light, median household income in Wisconsin rose by 7.4 percent from 2010 to 2014. But the better figures account for inflation. And by that measure, income dropped by 1.1 percent during that period. For a statement that contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, we rate Walker’s claim Mostly False.

[PolitiFact, 12/07/2015]

GOP Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans in the Legislature created WEDC in 2011, soon after they were swept into power. The new agency replaced the state Department of Commerce and was aimed at making economic development efforts more nimble and swift. It has been beset with problems. Troubled businesses have gotten taxpayer-funded incentives, and top officials at WEDC have steadily left the agency… Walker and GOP lawmakers cut tens of millions of dollars from WEDC in the state budget they approved in July. Nygren said lawmakers would look at restoring some of those cuts, possibly in the spring. “It’s become a political football and it shouldn’t be,” Nygren said of WEDC.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/10/2015]

Liberal group One Wisconsin Now director Scot Ross said Friday that instead of “shaking down donors” to pay off campaign debt, Walker should be focusing on Wisconsin’s economic problems. [Associated Press, 11/07/2015]

Gov. Scott Walker and his administration failed to make so much as a phone call in advance of Kraft-Heinz announcement the company is shuttering the Madison-based Oscar Mayer operation, leaving 1,000 Wisconsin workers out of jobs. Yet after doing nothing, Walker was able late this week to hit send on a fundraising solicitation to try to pay off the estimated $1 million debt his bloated presidential campaign racked up in a mere 71 days.

[One Wisconsin Now, 11/06/2015]

The liberal group One Wisconsin Now slammed Walker for doing fundraising rather than focusing on economic problems in the state, such as the announcement this week that the Oscar Mayer plant in Madison would be shuttering, resulting in the loss of 1,000 jobs. "Wisconsin families are being thrown into chaos and losing their jobs because Scott Walker was more focused on chasing his own presidential ambitions than doing his job as governor," One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross said. "And now, instead of taking even one iota of responsibility for his failure, he's shaking down donors to pay off the debt he rang up on the campaign trail paying bloated salaries to political operatives and even his own family." [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/06/2015]

"Wisconsin families are being thrown into chaos and losing their jobs because Scott Walker was more focused on chasing his own presidential ambitions than doing his job as governor," said One Wisconsin Now executive director Scot Ross in a statement. "And now, instead of taking even one iota of responsibility for his failure, he’s shaking down donors to pay off the debt he rang up on the campaign trail paying bloated salaries to political operatives and even his own family." [Capital Times, 11/06/2015]

Gov. Scott Walker’s economic development agency made no contact with Kraft Heinz as other states did in the months leading up to the company’s decision to close its Oscar Mayer headquarters in Madison… Soglin said the city never sought help from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., the state agency Walker created to help create and retain jobs. Walker told reporters Thursday that WEDC had offered assistance to the company, which it later rejected. But a WEDC official later said the only state assistance offered was $194,800 in tax credits in 2013 to Kraft Food Group — before the merger with Heinz this year — for a $4 million investment in the Madison offices, which the company turned down in 2014… The company announced Wednesday it is closing its Oscar Mayer headquarters on Madison’s East Side and cutting 1,000 jobs by early 2017, part of a nationwide restructuring that will cut 2,600 positions nationally. It had previously announced it was laying off 165 non-union Madison employees in August, but Walker and local officials have expressed surprise at the decision to close the nearly 100-year-old plant. Walker said his office learned about the closure plans Wednesday along with the city of Madison and Dane County. “It has nothing to do with Wisconsin,” Walker said. “It has everything to do with a corporate decision that was made by the merger of those two companies.”… Walker spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said Thursday that a representative of Kraft Heinz contacted the governor’s office in early October to request a meeting “and our office immediately responded to schedule that meeting.” But the company cancelled later that month, she said. Going forward, she said, the governor is focused on “working with local officials and the Department of Workforce Development to connect affected workers with other potential employers as well as a variety of services that include job training and job search assistance.” “The decision to close seven plants across the country (the majority of which are in states run by Democratic governors) and their decision about when to notify local officials is a question for the company,” Patrick wrote in an email.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 11/05/2015]

Like most everyone else, Gov. Scott Walker only learned of Kraft Heinz’s decision Wednesday, spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said. She said his office “will work with local officials and our Department of Workforce Development to connect affected workers with other potential employers as well as a variety of services that include job training and job search assistance.” Patrick said the state’s “economy is growing and moving in the right direction. Our unemployment rate is 4.3 percent, the lowest it’s been since April 2001,” she said in an email.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 11/04/2015]

“Pay-to-play certainly comes to my mind and I know I’m not alone,” said Scot Ross, executive director of the progressive group One Wisconsin Now. According to an investigation conducted by One Wisconsin Now, 60 percent of the companies that received grants from WEDC were Walker contributors. [Wisconsin Gazette, 10/17/2015]

Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, wasn't convinced. He said he believed some of the problems with soured financial awards at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. were tied to the fact that its employees had lost job protections when it was created as a quasi-public replacement for the state Department of Commerce. "State employees lost civil service protections when WEDC was created, and it has been plagued with unprecedented cronyism, corruption and incompetence ever since," Ross said. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 09/25/2015]

The centerpiece of Gov. Scott Walker’s economic agenda, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), has been a prime example of his administration’s cronyism, corruption and incompetence throughout its four plus years of existence. Now it is looking for yet another new head after the current CEO announced this week he will be resigning next month. According to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross, WEDC needs more than Walker and the WEDC Board Chair, who also heads the board of the big business lobby the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, tapping a new crony to oversee the operation.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/27/2015]

Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, thinks Walker has another motive for being tough on China, calling the move a "ham-handed dodge." "Scott Walker desperately wanted to change the media focus on his three positions in a week as he tries to chase Donald Trump's race to the sewer, proving again Scott Walker will say and do anything to win a political campaign," Ross said, referring to Walker's apparent shift among three different positions on birthright citizenship in a matter of a week. [La Crosse Tribune, 08/26/2015]

Mike Browne, deputy executive director of One Wisconsin Now, a liberal group that has been critical of the governor, noted that Mr. Walker has not canceled the mission. “He’s paying so little attention to Wisconsin he probably doesn’t know about it, so it would be fun to hear his response.” [New York Times, 08/25/2015]

This is hardly the first time that one of Walker’s financial supporters has benefited from taxpayer largess. A July report by One Wisconsin Now, a liberal activist group that has been consistently critical of Walker, found that since 2009 the governor’s campaign organization, Friends of Scott Walker, had received more than $2.1 million from individuals linked to WEDC awards. According to the report, the majority of the money doled out by the WEDC since its inception has gone to Walker donors—including, once again, Hammes, whose $100 million hotel project received a $55.9 million taxpayer backed loan approved by the agency. [Politico, 08/25/2015]

One Wisconsin Now made an important point. In fact, if anybody needs a backbone it's Scott Walker, Walker was once drooling over the possibility of trade with China. [Democurmudgeon, 08/24/2015]

Scot Ross, who heads the progressive group One Wisconsin Now, criticized the governor for the apparent incongruency. “Scott Walker doesn’t understand what’s going on in the world and doesn’t know what’s going on in his state,” he said. “In his desperate attempt to out-Trump Trump, Scott Walker has out-Palined Palin.” “It’s pretty rich for a guy who’s had three positions on immigration in a week to be telling the President to get a backbone,” he added. [Daily Beast, 08/24/2015]

“There is a lot of money being spent through this agency to try to create a lot of jobs in Wisconsin, and it has been a complete and utter failure,” says Mike Browne, of the liberal watchdog One Wisconsin Now. It recently published a report blasting WEDC. Yet Browne says there are things the agency can do to improve performance. [WUWM-FM, 08/17/2015]

Updated research by One Wisconsin Institute analyzes four years of failure by the quasi-private Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), created by Gov. Scott Walker and supported by state legislative Republicans. The report details ties between WEDC award recipients and Walker campaign donors, as well as businesses whose owners, directors or employees contributed to the campaign of Scott Walker receiving over sixty percent of dollars awarded by the jobs agency.

[One Wisconsin Institute, 08/12/2015]

Taiwanese electronics giant Hon HaiPrecision Industry Co Ltd, traded as Foxconn Technology, plans to invest $5 billion (Rs31,900 crore) over five years in India's western state of Maharashtra, giving a big boost to Prime Minister Narendara Modi's ''Make in India'' campaign launched last year… Prime minister Modi's ''Make in India'' campaign is aimed at wooing investors to transform the country into a manufacturing hub and create millions of new jobs in Asia's third-largest economy. Nevertheless, there are investor concerns about the bureaucratic red tape, tax regime, land costs etc prevailing in the country… ''We are looking at a 10-year plan but there are too many barriers to overcome,'' Gou said. ''We are looking at India for the long term.'' [XIAOMITIPS, 08/10/2015]

WALKER RHETORIC: “We more than made up for the jobs lost in the recession”

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/06/2015]

Let's not forget that this is not Foxconn's first India outing-it shut down its plant in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, soon after Nokia downed shutters. Though Foxconn will be accorded better treatment having met the prime minister, the finance minister and the telecom minister, it would be a good idea to appoint a point person in the prime minister's office who can very quickly escalate to the very top every problem that Foxconn can possibly face-apart from the investments, if Foxconn succeeds, it will create tens of thousands of well-paid jobs as well…It is easy to see just what can go wrong with Foxconn's India plans. For starters, especially if there are fabrication units to be set up, or even if ancillaries are to be housed in close proximity as they were for Maruti-Suzuki, land would be an immediate requirement. Given what is happening to the Land Act, unless some state governments quickly start changing their laws, this could be an issue. The units would require water and, of very high purity; ditto for electricity where the quality of supply has to be very reliable, not just in terms of being available 247 but in terms of the frequency-50 Hz-at which it is delivered. Two examples are important here. One, as our page one story points out, it has been 5 years since Toshiba tried to set up a small 15-20MW power plant to provide reliable power to Japanese manufacturers in Manesar-it has got past the litigation only now-but the actual work on the plant, including gas allocation, is yet to begin. [Financial Express, 08/06/2015]

Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn on Tuesday said it was going to invest in India across verticals like manufacturing, start-ups, energy and e-commerce portals and was also looking at bringing supply chain companies and major technologies here… Confirming investment plans in research and development projects, Gou said: "We are not divulging figures or locations as India is too huge to decide. We have had talks with several state governments and each state has a speciality. It is too early to give out numbers as it might destroy the credibility of Foxconn."... "We need to be very careful so as to choose a perfect location that will help us to generate economies of scale," he added. [Gadgets Now, 08/05/2015]

The report from One Wisconsin Institute, the research arm of One Wisconsin Now, shows close ties between donors to Walker's campaigns and recipients of awards from WEDC — the quasi-public agency Walker launched to replace the state Department of Commerce shortly after he took office in 2011. [Capital Times, 08/01/2015]

Much of the cash flowed to Walker’s political allies. According to a new report by the left-leaning One Wisconsin Institute, 60 percent of the $1.14 billion given out by the WEDC went to firms connected to Walker’s campaign contributors—that includes more than $2.1 million those donors have given Walker’s election campaigns directly. [In These Times, 07/31/2015]

According to a new report by the left-leaning One Wisconsin Institute, 60 percent of the $1.14 billion given out by the WEDC went to firms connected to Walker’s campaign contributors — that includes more than $2.1 million those donors have given Walker’s election campaigns directly. [San Francisco Chronicle, 07/31/2015]

A report released today by One Wisconsin Institute analyzes four years of failure by the quasi-private Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), created by Gov. Scott Walker. The report details ties between WEDC award recipients and Walker campaign donors, as well as businesses whose owners, directors or employees contributed to the campaign of Scott Walker receiving over sixty percent of dollars awarded by the jobs agency.

[One Wisconsin Institute, 07/30/2015]

Taiwanese electronics maker Foxconn is staring at labour strife in Tamil Nadu, where it had shut shop well over a quarter ago. About 490 of its former workers, who had received severance pay and benefits in February, are now demanding their jobs back…This comes days after Foxconn, most known for manufacturing the iPhone, announced plans to set up a manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh..."A settlement for severance was concluded with employee representatives on February 12, 2015," Foxconn, had said in a statement earlier. According to people familiar with the mater, an average sum of Rs 3.26 lakh was fixed as compensation. While many of the company's 1,306 employees accepted the money electronically sent to their salary accounts, hundreds had stuck to their demand for re-employment. [Gadgets Now, 07/29/2015]

Despite signs of trouble within the companies, Gov. Scott Walker’s jobs agency loaned about $1.4 million in taxpayer money to two northern Wisconsin firms that have failed to fully repay the loans or create hundreds of promised jobs. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. sued the companies — Tomahawk Metal Products of Tomahawk and North American Finishing of Suring — along with four others for failure to repay state taxpayer-funded loans or comply with grant terms. [Wisconsin State Journal, 07/26/2015]

Time has proven WEDC to be an abject failure at job creation, and, some argue, a symbol of the cronyism, corruption, and incompetence of the Scott Walker administration.

[One Wisconsin Institute, 07/24/2015]

What is more, the amount of cash available for the WEDC to carelessly dispense has grown. By the end of 2013, the state had awarded over $970 million in tax credits, loans and grants, according to the watchdog group One Wisconsin Now. [Al Jazeera, 07/06/2015]

“The bottom line is that Scott Walker said when he came into office, this is my blueprint for making good on my promise to create 250,000 jobs,” said Scot Ross, who helms the progressive group One Wisconsin Now. “And there were a lot of voices out there at the time—mostly on the Democratic or liberal side—saying, this is going to be transparent, and it’s just going to be a slush fund for Walker’s donors. Not only has been that, but it hasn’t created jobs either.” [Daily Beast, 06/25/2015]

Meanwhile, one of the governor’s loudest critics on the left, Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now, is saying there will be no improvement at WEDC unless politics can be taken out of the equation. “It’s time for Gov. Walker to come home and come clean about what’s been going on at WEDC,” Ross said in a statement. “And it’s time for the Republican majority in the state Legislature to stop covering for him as he runs for president and start demanding answers and accountability.” [Capital Times, 05/22/2015]

Gov Scott Walker made it only about halfway toward fulfilling his signature 2010 campaign promise — repeated in the 2012 recall — that 250,000 private-sector jobs would be created over four years under his leadership New figures released by the Republican's office on Thursday show about 35,700 private-sector jobs were created in Wisconsin in 2014 But taken together with the previous three years, only about 129,000 private-sector jobs were added during Walker's term, or just over halfway to what was promised

[Associated Press, 05/22/2015]

The final jobs numbers from the federal government covering the first term of Gov. Scott Walker released today confirm the utter failure of his administration to deliver on his job creation promise.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/21/2015]

Gov. Walker is in the hot seat over revelations that his top aides successfully lobbied for a risky state loan to the business of a major Walker campaign donor through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), chaired by Walker. One Wisconsin Now’s open records request filed a year ago, seeking correspondence between Walker and his staff and WEDC about businesses whose owners and employees made campaign contributions and received state help, might have brought other instances to light but Gov. Walker’s office refused to fulfill the request.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/19/2015]

Last year, a report from the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now cited figures showing that nearly 60 percent of some $975 million in assistance distributed by WEDC went to firms that had contributed to Walker or the Republican Governor’s Association. That report reviewed public campaign finance records and found that 192 donors were associated with companies that got WEDC awards. The report says Walker received more than $1 million in direct campaign funds and another $1 million via the RGA from WEDC aid recipients. [La Crosse Tribune, 05/19/2015]

In May 2014, One Wisconsin Now ran the numbers on WEDC loans and found that nearly 60 percent of some $975 million in assistance distributed by WEDC since 2011 went to firms that had contributed to Walker or the Republican Governor’s Association. [PR Watch, 05/18/2015]

Gov. Scott Walker’s top aides and a powerful lobbyist pressed for a taxpayer-funded loan in 2011 to a financially struggling Milwaukee construction company that lost the state half a million dollars, created no jobs and raised questions about where the money went, a State Journal investigation has found...The push to fund the BCI project came after Minahan gave Walker’s 2010 Republican campaign for governor a last-minute infusion of $10,000 on Election Day — the maximum individual contribution. Jadin said Minahan and Huebsch -- a nonvoting member of the WEDC board by virtue of his role as Administration secretary -- pushed for a $4.3 million WEDC loan, but the agency could justify no more than a $500,000 loan, which Jadin said he considered “fairly risky.”

[Wisconsin State Journal, 05/18/2015]

Those who read Gov. Scott Walker’s recent column deserve to know the truth about his record on the economy. There are three critical pieces of information you need to know. [The Gazette, 05/11/2015]

Gov. Scott Walker has cancelled a planned merger of two economic development agencies after a new audit said Walker's job-creating entity failed to follow statutes or its own policies when making financial awards...Within hours of the audit release, Walker issued a statement calling for that merger to be removed from the state budget along with a merger of two other state agencies. "After hearing concerns from legislators, stakeholders, and the WHEDA and WEDC boards, we asked legislators to remove the proposed agency mergers from the state budget and we asked the bill authors to not move forward with the proposed separate legislation," Walker said.

[Capital Times, 05/08/2015]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has come under scrutiny by media nationally and in Iowa recently for a $62 million-plus award of state funds to the retail outlet Kohl's doled out under his watch as chair of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted that more transactions by Walker’s WEDC deserve scrutiny, including over $86 million in state economic assistance to businesses that outsourced jobs to foreign countries.

[One Wisconsin Now, 04/24/2015]

“If you look at the Walker record, it has been cuts to infrastructure like public education to fund a trickle-down economic agenda that hasn’t worked,” said Mike Browne, deputy executive director of One Wisconsin Now, a liberal-leaning group. [Bloomberg News, 04/21/2015]

Despite little sign the investment has created much of a local supply chain, Apple's iPhone sales in the country are still rising. The Brazilian iPhone was meant to mark a new era. When Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Groupagreed in April 2011 to make Apple products in the country, president Dilma Rousseff and her advisers promised up to $12 billion in investments over six years would transform the Brazilian technology sector… Foxconn has created only a small fraction of the 100 000 jobs the government projected, and most of the work is in low-skill assembly. There is little sign it has catalysed Brazil's technology sector, or created much of a local supply chain. The iPhones now rolling off an assembly line near São Paulo, the only ones in the world made outside China, carry a retail price tag of nearly $1 000 for a 32GB iPhone 5S without a contract - among the highest prices in the world and about twice what they sell for in the US. That Brazil has so little to show for the Foxconn investment underscores the shortcomings of its industrial policy, defined by costly tax incentives that have driven a widening government budget deficit without spurring growth…For instance, Indonesia's government has said for years that Foxconn would invest up to $10 billion, but plans remain in limbo due to political snags…The location: Itu, a sleepy tourist town in São Paulo state nicknamed "The City of Exaggerations". Today the site remains an empty expanse of dirt, where bulldozers have been levelling the land since late last year. City councillor Givanildo Soares da Silva, who helped lead the push to donate nearly 100 acres of land to Foxconn, has since turned against the project… Gou, founder and chairman of Foxconn, discussed Brazilian labour in the past, his take was withering. "Brazilian workers' wages are very high. But Brazilians, as soon as they hear 'soccer,' they stop working. And there's all the dancing. It's crazy," he told the Wall Street Journal in 2010. [Reuters, 04/13/2015]

"WEDC is the perfect microcosm for the way in which Gov. Walker operates. He has all of the power, he gets everything he wants, and he blames the failure, the utter abject failure, on everything else," said One Wisconsin Now executive director Scot Ross. "It’s so bad that after almost four years, every time WEDC comes out of his mouth, you know an excuse is on its way." [Capital Times, 03/28/2015]

The synergy between Gov. Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and his political fortunes is making headlines again. This time it’s a secret $1.5 million donation to a Walker aligned group from Wisconsin’s richest man before his business snagged $1.8 million in tax credits courtesy of the Walker administration’s WEDC. But One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross pointed to their earlier report, “W is for WEDC,” that found a disproportionate share of WEDC funds went to businesses whose owners and employees made donations to help advance the political aspirations of Gov. Walker as evidence of a pattern of behavior.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/25/2015]

Scot Ross, executive director of liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, challenged the notion that Walker, who is chairman of the WEDC board, can distance himself from the Menard awards. “Is Walker going to get away with telling people that he has nothing to do with the allocation of WEDC dollars?” Ross said. [Associated Press, 03/25/2015]

He wrote more than $1.5 million in checks to a pro-Walker political advocacy group that pledged to keep its donors secret, three sources directly familiar with the transactions told Yahoo News. Menard’s previously unreported six-figure contributions to the Wisconsin Club for Growth — a group that spent heavily to defend Walker during a bitter 2012 recall election — seem to have paid off for the businessman and his company. In the past two years, Menard’s company has been awarded up to $1.8 million in special tax credits from a state economic development corporation that Walker chairs, according to state records.

[Yahoo News, 03/23/2015]

Among the 10 Midwestern states we’ve checked on previous "dead last" claims, Wisconsin is at the bottom, if not "dead last."

[Politifact, 03/16/2015]

“We see Wisconsin as a state in need of improvement,” said Scot Ross, director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. “Our schools and workforce are among the best in the nation. But the facts show Scott Walker has failed to deliver, leaving us with lagging job growth and stagnant wages.” [Associated Press, 01/15/2015]

Late yesterday, Gov. Scott Walker dismissed as a spelling error, a gaffe discovered by One Wisconsin Now that went viral following a story in The Capital Times in which he wished a constituent “molotov” instead of “mazel tov.” One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted math is a much bigger challenge for Walker as Wisconsin faces a budget deficit of over $2 billion, a pledge to create 250,000 jobs in his first term remains woefully unfulfilled and 1 million state student loan borrowers continue to wait for relief.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/11/2014]

Leading up to the November 4 election, Gov. Scott Walker stated if re-elected he was not interested in pursuing legislation to further restrict the rights of Wisconsin workers. Yet less than one month after he survived a heated re-election bid, a new group with ties to a right-wing, big money cabal that underwrites conservative causes and has supported Gov. Walker, announced it will work to pass legislation to further restrict workplace rights in Wisconsin.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/01/2014]

 In his election night speech after narrowly being re-elected Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker mentioned “Washington” as much as “Wisconsin”. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted Walker's eleven-minute speech in which he mentioned Wisconsin ten times, Washington nine times and America twelve times was a stunning display that Wisconsin's Governor has already moved on to his next electoral objective.

[One Wisconsin Now, 11/05/2014]

 One Wisconsin Now is using Halloween to debut a new graphic depiction of the horrors of Gov. Scott Walker’s opposition to common sense student loan reforms for hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites. At TheWalkerDead.com, viewers can see numerous nightmare scenarios befalling the student loan borrowers struggling against Scott Walker’s indifference to their economic futures.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/31/2014]

 While Scott Walker gubernatorial candidate was calling for “transparency in the state contracting process,” Scott Walker Milwaukee County Executive and top aides were secretly funneling confidential information to a political crony to try to help him win a lucrative deal with the county. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross blasted Walker’s actions as a “stunning display of hypocrisy, even for Scott Walker.” Ross also renewed his call for the resignations of other scheme participants Cindy Archer and Jim Villa from their six-figure salary state jobs.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/23/2014]

 Central figures in providing inside information and attempting to help Gov. Scott Walker’s longtime campaign treasurer win a lucrative contract with Milwaukee County while Walker was County Executive today hold state jobs with six figure salaries. That needs to change, according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross who today called for the resignations of Cindy Archer and Jim Villa.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/22/2014]

 In a deceptive new ad, the flailing campaign of Gov. Scott Walker is trying to whitewash his disastrous record on student loan debt and higher education. Speaking directly to camera, Walker ignores the fact students are paying $200 million in higher tuition as result of hikes he signed into law. Also unmentioned by Walker is that he’s stood in the way of a first in the nation state plan plan that would allow many of Wisconsin’s more than 800,000 student loan borrowers to refinance their loans, just like you can a mortgage.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/20/2014]

"Foxconn was petrified of trade unionism. The problem became complicated as senior management teams based in Taiwan and China received reports which suggested that the local government was not curbing trade unionism," said an official who worked for Foxconn. Foxconn sounded out AIADMK leaders, seeking immediate intervention to solve the labour wrangle, but nothing happened. Terry Gou, global CEO of Foxconn who signed the MoU with the Tamil Nadu government in March 2006, congratulated former CM Jayalalithaa on her return to office in 2011 and tacitly sought her support. He asked for an appointment to meet her, which never happened…The result: In October 2011, Foxconn signed an MoU with the Brazilian government to make iPhones and iPads for Apple. Foxconn could not be reached for a comment. " After Foxconn signed the MoU, we had interactions with them in 2012.They were happy they expanded in Brazil rather than India as the UPA 's draconian GAAR taxation rules became a party pooper," the official said. [The Times of India, 10/15/2014]

 During an editorial board visit with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, today, Democratic candidate for governor Mary Burke reiterated her call for student loan reform, specifically, allowing Wisconsin’s 800,000-plus student loan borrowers the chance to refinance their loans, just like you can a mortgage.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/15/2014]

 Gov. Scott Walker’s excuse during Friday's debate that Wisconsin doesn’t have a jobs problem, it has a “work problem,” is the latest and most offensive excuse by the flailing governor who promised 250,000 jobs, while putting Wisconsin dead last in the Midwest in job creation under his watch.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/13/2014]

 Many of the state’s more than 800,000 student loan borrowers will be watching tonight’s gubernatorial debate to see how Gov. Scott Walker and former Trek executive Mary Burke address the $1.2 trillion student loan debt crisis, according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/10/2014]

 Democratic candidate for governor Mary Burke told the Associated Press her “first priority” as governor would be passing the Higher Ed, Lower Debt bill to lower student debt. Burke’s plan would allow many of Wisconsin’s 800,000-plus student loan borrowers to refinance their loans at lower market rates, like one can with a mortgage, as well as a substantial middle class tax break for payments on student loans.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/06/2014]

 After signing into law drastic funding cuts to an Alcohol and Other Drug Addiction (AODA) program targeting youths, Gov. Scott Walker is now proposing mandatory drug testing for Wisconsinites as a condition of receiving unemployment benefits or participating in the FoodShare program. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross denounced the shortsighted and hypocritical actions of Gov. Walker on the issue.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/01/2014]

 Gov. Scott Walker has steadfastly refused to support a common sense state plan to allow students loan refinancing, just like you can a mortgage, helping many of Wisconsin's 800,000 student loan borrowers. Meanwhile, a recent audit of Gov. Walker’s Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) revealed the agency declared as uncollectible millions of dollars in taxpayer funded loans to businesses that were delinquent.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/26/2014]

 Gov. Scott Walker and his Department of Workforce Development publicly tout over 70,000 job openings as being posted on a state website, jobcenterofwisconsin.com. But according to a Channel 27 News report on One Wisconsin Now’s review of the site, the reality is that Gov. Walker has once again come up far short on a jobs number – over 20,000 fewer jobs in fact, and the site even lists roughly 13,000 openings for jobs outside of the state of Wisconsin.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/24/2014]

 A recent study from a home building industry consulting firm estimates student loan debt is costing the U.S. housing market $83 billion annually in lost home sales. One Wisconsin Institute Executive Director Scot Ross noted that the most recent data tracks with an earlier study from his organization that found student loan borrowers and their families were significantly more likely to rent versus own their home.

[One Wisconsin Institute, 09/24/2014]

In his first term in office Gov. Scott Walker signed at least nineteen bills or budget provisions into law that were drawn from corporate bill factory the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). He, along with the GOP legislature, also allowed a mining company that donated $700,000 to write large portions of a bill weakening the state’s laws on mining. Now running for re-election Gov. Walker continues “borrowing” from others, using the same campaign catch phrase as 21 other GOP governors and lifting a controversial portion of his jobs plan from a failed experiment in Florida.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/22/2014]

Nearly one million Wisconsinites have student loan debt, part of the $1.2 trillion student loan debt crisis that ensnares 40 million Americans. But according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross, a recent college campus tour undertaken by the increasingly desperate campaign of Gov. Scott Walker earns failing grades for failing to take on the $1.2 trillion student loan debt crisis.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/10/2014]

Fast food workers across the country, including in Milwaukee, Madison and Wausau, today engaged in direct actions and rallies for higher wages and the right to bargain for better working conditions. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross applauded the workers effort and noted that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s opposition to a higher minimum wage and actions like stripping workers of their rights have left the state lagging the Midwest on jobs and wage growth.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/04/2014]

A faltering Gov. Scott Walker took to right wing radio Thursday to deliver a blistering attack against state and national media for his latest troubles, complaining to Hugh Hewitt, “it’s hard to tell in between is it bias or is it incompetence, or is it just being lazy…In many of these cases, it may be all of the above.”

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/02/2014]

 As students across Wisconsin head back to school, it’s Gov. Scott Walker who needs to be educated about the impact of his wrong-headed education policies, according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. Under Walker and his education policies, Wisconsin has had lagging job growth and rates of wage increases that trail neighboring states, earning him a failing grade.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/29/2014]

 In a recent TV ad the increasingly desperate campaign of Gov. Walker claims to have eliminated budget deficits. But the release of new tax collection figures could put the current budget crafted by Gov. Walker and the GOP-controlled legislature hundreds of millions of dollars out of balance and balloon a projected shortfall in the next budget to well over $1 billion.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/28/2014]

 Gov. Scott Walker, who plunged the state to last in the Midwest in jobs on his watch, is touting a “Wisconsin comeback” in his stump speeches and TV ads. As Wisconsin celebrates Women’s Equality Day and the 94th anniversary of passage of the 19th amendment grating women the right to vote, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted the unwelcome “comeback” under Walker of regressive policies that hurt women and their families.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/26/2014]

 The national ‘PBS NewsHour’ program, as part of its weeklong series “Rethinking College” will feature One Wisconsin Now’s work on the student loan debt crisis in a segment airing Tuesday evening. The piece, entitled “Wisconsin group wants to turn student loan borrowers into activists,” also features U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, U.S. Army Veteran and current UW-Waukesha student Saul Newton and recent UW-Madison graduate Ann DeGarmo.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/25/2014]

The increasingly desperate campaign of Gov. Scott Walker hastily convened a press conference yesterday to dispute the undeniable facts that his policies and administration have been an utter failure on job creation. As Walker’s campaign spin machine shifts into high gear, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted that the facts remain a majority of state economic development funds doled out by the Wisconsin Economic Development went corporations whose owners and employees contributed $1.2 million to Gov. Walker and the most comprehensive survey on job creation shows Wisconsin trails neighboring states and the national average.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/22/2014]

The latest television ad from the floundering campaign of Gov. Scott Walker purports to feature “real people” who allegedly got their jobs via the trickle-down economic policies of the Walker administration. The ad provides no identifying information about these individuals, and the Walker campaign has refused to provide additional information in response to media inquiries. According to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross, Walker’s broken promise on jobs and his campaign’s track record of using paid actors and outsourced clip art in ads makes questions of about the veracity of the latest ad well founded.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/13/2014]

 One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements on Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce comments on outsourcing and Wisconsin jobs.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/30/2014]

A review of Gov. Scott Walker’s most recent campaign finance report reveals he continues to reap a windfall of campaign donations, nearly $167,000 in just the last six months, from individuals associated with state businesses getting tax breaks, loans and grants through his Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). The latest information comes on the heels of a report from One Wisconsin Now that found Gov. Walker’s WEDC doled out 60 percent of its economic development funds to businesses donating $1 million to Walker’s campaign.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/28/2014]

 Gov. Scott Walker, who has opposed efforts to allow Wisconsin’s more than 900,000 student loan borrowers the chance to refinance their loans at a lower rate, is instead conducting a photo opportunity today at a predatory for-profit college chain under investigation by multiple attorneys general, as well as the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for deceptive and abusive practices against students.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/28/2014]

 One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding a news report in the Wisconsin State Journal that the Gov. Scott Walker's office is redacting names of companies seeking taxpayer funds for the privatized Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/25/2014]

“Gov. Walker is so committed to outsourcing that's he's even outsourcing stock footage jobs overseas,” said Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now.

[Capital Times, 07/24/2014]

As Gov. Scott Walker and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch continue a statewide election-year tour of Wisconsin's technical colleges, neither has explained why they have increased student loan debt hundreds of millions of dollars, gutted tech college funding by $70 million and opposed common sense reforms that would allow many of the state's nearly 1 million student loan borrowers to refinance their loans, just like you can a mortgage.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/22/2014]

 In his latest negative television ad, Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign attacks Trek Bicycles - an international company, headquartered in Wisconsin and employing 1,000 state residents. According to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross, this is just the latest example of the Governor putting his political self-interest before progress on Wisconsin jobs.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/18/2014]

Gov. Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) responded to news reports revealing how they sent millions in tax credits to businesses that cut Wisconsin jobs and shipped work overseas not by apologizing, but by declaring they’ll do it again. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross said Walker’s WEDC giving state tax dollars to job outsourcers helps to explain how Wisconsin is last in the Midwest and lagging the nation in jobs, and ripped them for declaring they’ll continue to do it instead of fighting to recover state funds.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/10/2014]

Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign today announced a new negative television blitz against former Wisconsin Commerce Secretary and business leader Mary Burke. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross ripped career politician Scott Walker for attempting to “swift boat” his opponent while refusing to answer questions raised by a One Wisconsin Now report showing not only is his privatized Commerce Department (WEDC) failing to deliver promised jobs, but that 60 percent of taxpayer-financed aid – a staggering $570 million – went to donors to Walker’s campaign.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/08/2014]

HIGHLIGHT: Foxconn wants to replace a portion of its workforce with ten thousand "Foxbots." These robots alone could manufacture hundreds of millions of iPhones every year -- potentially eliminating the need for most of the workforce… At a shareholder's meeting held recently, Foxconn's Terry Gou explained that these so-called "Foxbots" are almost ready for prime time. These machines will be installed in at least one large-scale factory in the near future, and we can most assuredly expect more to come once the kinks have been worked out. Interestingly, Chinese site IT Home is reporting that Apple - the company most associated with Foxconn - will be the first company to use these new robots…Of course, this doesn't spell the immediate end of factory labor. In 2011, we were told that Foxconn would have upwards of a million robots in its factories by 2014, but we've yet to see any official headcount. Since Foxconn isn't bragging about its total number of robots, it's safe to assume that those early estimates were overly optimistic. As it stands, Foxconn employs well over a million people in factories all over the world, and it's just not practical to fire all of those people just yet. [ExtremeTech, 07/08/2014]

Foxconn China, Apple's chief manufacturer for iPhones, expects to hire 100,000 additional workers in anticipation of production demands for the iPhone 6. On the same day, Foxconn India announced widespread layoffs at the plants that help make Nokia phones… Here is an example of how fortunes can change because of the popularity of a cellphone…In May, Foxconn India wrote to Tamil Nadu's Labour and Industrial Ministry, explaining that the company is "the main supplier to Nokia" and "in India, our business is substantially dependent on Nokia." However, Nokia is now vacating their operations there after a tax dispute with the Indian government. "Under these circumstances, we are also compelled to downsize our manpower substantially to suit the current requirements of our customer," says the letter from Foxconn India. "Besides this, we also understand that future order status is also uncertain with Nokia given their re-defined business model with global customers."... As enormous an opportunity as the hiring of 100,000 workers in China may be, the specter of the situation at the Sriperumbudur plant's fate may serve as a reminder that the battle between smart phone brands affects more than consumers and app developers. [The Christian Science Monitor, 06/24/2014]

A liberal advocacy group reports that nearly 60 percent of the financial assistance money awarded by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has gone to businesses whose owners or employees have donated money to the campaign of Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wisconsin) or the Republican Governors Association (RGA). WEDC officials do not dispute that statistic, but insist "contributions absolutely play no role in determining which companies receive awards from WEDC." One Wisconsin Now found that 192 donors associated with businesses receiving WEDC grants donated a total of just over $1 million directly to Gov. Walker's campaign and another $1.1 million to the RGA. The RGA is a special interest group that spent $13 million to help get Gov. Walker elected in 2010 and then defeat the recall effort in 2012.

[WKOW-TV, 06/14/2014]

As a report by One Wisconsin Now detailed last month, 60 percent of WEDC economic development funds went to only 30 percent of businesses receiving assistance. That's $570 million out of a total $975 million in awards going to some of the largest corporations in the state. Compare that to the relatively minuscule $25 million Governor Walker has devoted to his investment capital fund for small business, and the state's misplaced focus becomes clear. [Julie Lassa, 06/11/2014]

 A report released today by One Wisconsin Now analyzing state funds distributed by the quasi-private Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), created by Gov. Scott Walker, raises serious questions about who is really benefitting. The report found that owners or employees of 30 percent of businesses receiving WEDC assistance contributed to Gov. Walker's campaign or the Republican Governors Association (RGA). Meanwhile these same businesses received almost 60 percent of WEDC economic development funds - $570 million in total.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/30/2014]

A liberal advocacy group is leveling heavy criticism at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, claiming the quasi-private agency championed by Gov. Scott Walker is delivering financial assistance to campaign donors. The report from One Wisconsin Now maintains that nearly 60 percent of some $975 million in assistance distributed by WEDC went to firms that had contributed to Walker or the Republican Governor’s Association. [Capital Times, 05/30/2014]

 With a statewide public opinion poll released last week showing Gov. Walker tied with his Democratic opponent in the lead up to the November elections, Walker’s right-wing allies are again taking to the airwaves to boost his sagging electoral fortunes. Media reports quote a spokesperson for the notorious right-wing Koch brothers subsidized Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF), a tax deductible non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, saying the group will spend at least $866,000 on media, including television and radio ads in the coming weeks.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/27/2014]

To some it’s corporate welfare. To others it’s job creation. Last year, a report from the liberal group One Wisconsin Now noted that executives at companies receiving subsidies from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) had contributed $429,060 to Gov. Scott Walker. [Capital Times, 05/26/2014]

A report released today by One Wisconsin Now analyzing state funds distributed by the quasi-private Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), created by Gov. Scott Walker, raises serious questions about who is really benefitting. The report found that owners or employees of 30 percent of businesses receiving WEDC assistance contributed to Gov. Walker's campaign or the Republican Governors Association (RGA). Meanwhile these same businesses received almost 60 percent of WEDC economic development funds - $570 million in total. [WLUK-TV, 05/15/2014]

Several years ago, amid rising labour unrest at factories on the mainland, Foxconn Technology chairman and founder Terry Gou Tai-ming announced his company planned to have a million robots installed at its plants within three years… Moreover, if hundreds of thousands of iPhone assembly line workers were being replaced by robots, one would have thought this might have caught the media's attention. When several Foxconn workers committed suicide four years ago, the story became front-page news across the globe. Recall that this is the same Gou who, when giving a speech at a Taiwanese zoo, complained that like the zoo keepers, he also had to "handle a million animals" - referring to Foxconn's workforce - and it gave him a lot of "headaches"... In fact, as much as Foxconn might like to replace its workforce with robots in a few short years, neither the maths nor the politics of a rapid transformation add up. Even in manufacturing sectors, such as carmaking, where robots have replaced workers in developed countries, we are not seeing wholescale refittings of factories with robots on the mainland… What we are seeing instead is that Foxconn is turning to automation to increase efficiency and "hold the line" on wage increases through manufacturing efficiency improvements. Thus, although Foxconn's wage rates increased a stunning 70 per cent between 2009 and 2012, gross profit per employee fell by only 26 per cent, Moel said. [South China Morning Post, 04/10/2014]

Foxconn Technology Group, the maker of Apple Inc.'s iPhone, is in talks with U.S. states including Arizona and Colorado to build advanced manufacturing facilities as part of plans to set up factories closer to its clients…Arizona Governor Jan Brewer met with Foxconn's founder and chairman Terry Gou in November while officials from Colorado, Texas, New York, New Jersey and Louisiana have all made contact with the Taipei-based company, Hsing said. Representatives from those states didn't immediately reply to e-mails from Bloomberg outside of business hours. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.,the biggest company in the Foxconn group, in November announced plans to spend $30 million (U.S.) in Pennsylvania through Foxconn Interconnect, a division which develops connectors used in computers and smartphones. Foxconn will also invest $10 million in a venture with Carnegie Mellon University for research in robotics and manufacturing. [Bloomberg News, 01/27/2014]

Asking corporate special interests, “how can we love you more?” in closed-door meetings may be paying off with adulation from corporate CEOs for Gov. Walker’s Administration, but for the rest of us the state economy continues to lag the nation and region in economic growth. A recent survey of an elite slice of big business CEOs being touted by Gov. Walker is at odds with the economic reality for the rest of the state.

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/10/2014]

Gov. Walker is publicizing multiple “forums” across the state where, at his direction, top administration officials talk tax policy changes with big business representatives. At the first stop in Beloit that featured Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, the Secretary of the Department of Revenue and business representatives, Kleefisch order the meeting closed to the public and media. Kleefisch has also refused to release a recording of the proceedings made by a taxpayer funded member of her staff.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/13/2013]

Good Jobs First also highlights the June 2013 report from the advocacy group One Wisconsin Now showing that executives at companies receiving subsidies from WEDC had contributed $429,060 to Gov. Scott Walker. It claims that Walker in July then signed a reform bill because he was “apparently worried about the conflict appearances” within the agency. [Capital Times, 10/24/2013]

It may be thirteen months before he stands for re-election as Wisconsin Governor, but Scott Walker and his special interest allies are already in full panic mode. According to legislative records obtained by One Wisconsin Now, Gov. Walker’s administration scrambled to have a property tax scheme drafted as a bill the same day as he announced it at a hastily called press conference and mere days after a Democratic opponent for the November 2014 election announced her candidacy.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/14/2013]

As Gov. Scott Walker and the right wing noise machine shift into overdrive in their efforts to boost sagging opinion of his job performance, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted that, try as they might, the fact remains on issue after issue, the Walker administration has been an abysmal failure.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/07/2013]

 The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics has released a new round of national job numbers. According to the data, Wisconsin ranks in the bottom third of states and significantly lags the national job growth rate. The following are the statements of One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross:

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/25/2013]

Those companies were accountable in the only way that appeared to matter. The watchdog One Wisconsin Now reported owners and employees of businesses receiving WEDC funds contributed more than $614,000 to Walker’s political campaigns and to the Republican Governors Association, which then contributed lavishly to Walker. [Express Milwaukee, 07/21/2013]

To see the recent struggles of the state's jobs programs, take the case of a missing crane, a seemingly untraceable business owner and $83,000 in squandered taxpayer money. When the state lent the money to Milwaukee Iron Works in the fall of 2010, seemingly everything soured — from the state's spotty follow-up on the delinquent loan and the firm's eventual status as a tax scofflaw to a shortchanged pension fund for the company's workers and even a sloppy job of lawmaking by legislators eliminating the state program. Taxpayers were left with bad debt and no collateral: The crane that was supposed to back up their loan can't be found. The case turned up in an ongoing Journal Sentinel review of the state's job programs that encompassed hundreds of records on delinquent loans and matched a database of tax-delinquent companies against firms that have received state jobs incentives such as grants, loans or other awards. The review found seven companies that benefited from nearly $1.3 million worth of taxpayer subsidies — including loans, grants and loan guarantees — and that owe nearly $300,000 in state taxes and other charges, according to a recent count in state records. One business actually owed taxes at the time the state gave it the award, and others, like Milwaukee Iron Works, had growing financial problems that could have been spotted by state officials had they looked deeper into the companies.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 07/20/2013]

A new report by One Wisconsin Now adds a twist to the jaw-dropping shamelessness over at the WEDC. [Isthmus, 07/17/2013]

The liberal group One Wisconsin Now this week put out a report which found that executives at companies that received financial incentives from WEDC have donated $429,060 to Gov. Scott Walker's campaign since 2010. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 07/16/2013]

A review of campaign finance records by One Wisconsin Now has found that Gov. Walker's campaign and the Republican Governors Association (RGA) have raked in over $614,000 in donations from individuals associated with businesses receiving tax credits through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). Walker serves as chair of the board entrusted with overseeing the operations of the quasi-private WEDC.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/15/2013]

A new national report ranks Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker 40th out of 45 governors scored on their job growth records. On Numbers, the research wing of the Business Journals, analyzed private-sector employment levels in each state during the tenure of its current governor, using seasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figures are through May 2013 and do not include the five governors who took office this year. The report shows Wisconsin adding 58,700 private-sector jobs since Walker took office in January 2011, an annual growth rate of 1.07 percent. But that compares with a growth rate of 2 percent for the other 49 states over that period. If Wisconsin had added private-sector jobs at the same pace as the rest of the country under Walker, the state would have added another 51,200 jobs for a total of 109,900.

[Capital Times, 06/30/2013]

In his twenty years in office, Scott Walker has amassed a truly astounding record of failure. To commemorate the looming anniversary of his first election to office, One Wisconsin Now is highlighting a different and depressing failure of Gov. Walker every day, for twenty days. On tap for today, in a rare candid moment, Gov. Walker is caught on video revealing his strategy of “divide and conquer” to billionaire Wisconsin widow and $510,000 contributor Diane Hendricks.

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/13/2013]

In his twenty years in office, Scott Walker has amassed a truly astounding record of failure. To commemorate the looming anniversary of his first election to office, One Wisconsin Now is highlighting a different and depressing failure of Gov. Walker every day, for twenty days. In today's installment, Gov. Walker's anti-voter record is “highlighted”.

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/09/2013]

Beginning June 10, One Wisconsin Now will commemorate over 20 days, the failings, scandals and imbroglios of Gov. Scott Walker's 20-years in elected office. Gov. Walker, who was first elected to the State Assembly on June 29, 1993, has spent virtually no time in the private sector and has enjoyed nearly half his life on the taxpayers' dime, including receiving well over $1 million in salary alone, as well as health care benefits for he and his family.

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/04/2013]

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is traveling to Iowa today to address a gathering of Republican Party activists in another of an increasing number out-of-state sojourns as he ponders a bid for national office. Also making the trip is One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross, along with copies of the Walker “Resume of Failure.”

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/22/2013]

In what parallel universe does a scandal-plagued agency that just got dinged for failing to account for the money it’s been spending get more money? That parallel universe would be Scott Walker’s Wisconsin. There’s something flat-out bizarre about the governor's response to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. fiasco...The governor, who chairs the WEDC board, actually wants to give the agency more money BEFORE the mess is cleaned up. That may make sense to Walker. But in the real world, common sense says this: Fix WEDC before you throw any more taxpayer dollars at the failed experiment.

[Capital Times, 05/09/2013]

The continuing mismanagement and misuse of public funds at Governor Walker's Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) ought to disqualify the agency from any new funding, according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. Particularly egregious is a 2013-15 budget proposal giving WEDC $11 million in new taxpayer money to run an advertising campaign.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/06/2013]

“A stinging audit has found that the state's flagship jobs agency repeatedly failed last year to follow basic standards in state law for ensuring the clear and proper use of millions of dollars in taxpayer money, prompting lawmakers of both parties to call for immediate changes. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. has faced repeated criticism for poor financial controls since Gov. Scott Walker and lawmakers created the quasi-public authority in July 2011 as a replacement for the Department of Commerce. The agency's chief financial officer, Mike Klonsinski, resigned in October when problems came to light. His position remains open - the latest person to take the job resigned after 24 hours to accept a promotion from his old firm.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/01/2013]

A blistering audit released Wednesday said Republican Gov. Scott Walker's premier job creation agency repeatedly broke state law in its first year of operation, failed to adequately track money it awarded for economic development projects and sometimes gave money to ineligible recipients...The audit found numerous examples where the agency did not consistently follow the law or existing policies when making awards, and had no policies for determining how to handle delinquent loan amounts. In one example, WEDC executed a $2.5 million contract through a tax credit program that required jobs to be created in order for companies to get the credit. But the contract did not require any jobs be created, the audit said...Employees of the public-private entity also made unexplained purchases of University of Wisconsin football season tickets, alcohol and iTunes gift cards, the audit said. The audit faulted WEDC for not having sufficient policies to administer its $520 million worth of grant, loan and tax credit programs effectively, including some policies required by law. It awarded $80 million in its first year.

[Associated Press, 05/01/2013]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding the Legislative Audit Bureau's findings of serious performance inadequacies at Gov. Walker's Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC):

[One Wisconsin Now, 04/30/2013]

Following the “revelation” that the University of Wisconsin System maintains a reserve fund, State Representative and member of the “CPA Caucus” Howard Marklein has vowed to review the finance of more state agencies. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross suggested Marklein and his GOP cohorts ought to start with Gov. Walker's woefully underperforming Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).

[One Wisconsin Now, 04/29/2013]

According to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross, time isn’t the only thing Gov. Walker is spending to promote his 2016 Republican Presidential ambitions. Tucked away in Gov. Walker’s 2013-15 budget is a provision allocating nearly $11 million in taxpayer funds for an advertising campaign, overseen by his quasi-private Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/14/2013]

In his nearly $68 billion state budget proposal, Gov. Walker larders special interests with sweetheart deals and doles out millions in tax breaks for the wealthiest Wisconsinites. But, according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross, not one cent is spent to provide direct relief to students or their families being crushed by the trillion-dollar student loan debt crisis.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/26/2013]

From appearances at Republican Party events in the Western Iowa media market to health care decisions designed to appease to Tea Party extremists instead of help Wisconsin families, Gov. Scott Walker’s top priorities appear to be his political ambitions. The recent announcement that he intends to spend nearly $11 million on a marketing campaign overseen by his scandal plagued Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is more like a publicly funded, national advertising campaign for himself than a Wisconsin job creation strategy, according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/14/2013]

Blame the weather. Blame the economy. Blame Scott Walker. No matter the reason, Wisconsin is among the top 10 states for people moving out. The moving company United Van Lines has been doing the survey for 36 years and analyzed some 125,000 residential moves in the continental U.S. last year. While not scientific, it does provide a nice snapshot of migration patterns, along with fodder for social media chatter. [Capital Times, 02/13/2013]

Across the country, the economy is slowly but steadily improving. More companies are hiring, consumers are spending again, the stock market is tickling record highs and many Americans say they are feeling more optimistic about the future. But Wisconsin stands somewhat apart from this trend, consistently and stubbornly lagging in job creation and finding itself near the bottom of many measures of economic health...It’s a familiar story across Wisconsin. While fewer businesses are cutting jobs these days, they sure aren’t adding a lot of new employees either. And for those with a job — whether in the private or public sector — the pay raises have been few and far between. So what gives? Some observers point to Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature. They say the drastic spending cuts in the 2011-2013 state budget, just as the economy was beginning to recover from the recession, have actually made things worse. “Wisconsin did absolutely the wrong thing at the wrong time,” says Kenneth Thomas, a political scientist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and author of the popular Middle Class Political Economist blog. “You want to practice austerity when things are going well, not the other way around.”

[Capital Times, 02/06/2013]

The latest report from conservative front group the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance is more of an apology for Gov. Walker’s epic failure to spur new job creation in Wisconsin than an analysis of the reasons behind Wisconsin’s current rank as 42nd in the nation for job growth, according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. The report alleges that it is the fault of Wisconsin’s population for being too old and lacking an entrepreneurial demeanor.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/04/2013]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding the hiring of a new CEO for Gov. Walker’s Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC):

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/28/2013]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements on the introduction of new open pit mining legislation:

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/15/2013]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements on Gov. Walker's silence on his campaign contributor and fundraiser Hank Greenberg suing the federal government over the taxpayer funded bailout of AIG. Greenberg hosted the notorious fundraiser for Walker in his Park Avenue apartment in New York the day nearly one million signatures were filed to recall Gov. Walker.

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/10/2013]

The organization One Wisconsin Now, which opposes many of Gov. Walker’s policies, was quick to react to the job creation ranking on Tuesday, saying it shows Walker’s job creation efforts are not working. Executive Director Scot Ross said: “Gov. Walker and his policies have, again, proven to be an abysmal failure for Wisconsin.”

[Milwaukee Public Radio, 01/07/2013]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements on the release of U.S. Census data showing Wisconsin under Gov. Walker ranks 42nd of the 50 states for job creation between June 2011 and June 2012:

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/07/2013]

Another statement came from the activist group One Wisconsin Now executive director Scot Ross, who said after two years of partisan political strife and stagnant economy, Walker’s pledge this week didn’t mean much. “Two years ago we got the same song and dance from Gov. Walker and the Republican legislative majorities, but they put raw politics and power grabs before all else at very step of the way,” Ross said. “Their actions offer precious little reason to believe them this time.”

[Wisconsin Gazette, 01/07/2013]

After two years of unprecedented partisan political strife under their governance, a stagnant economy and record cuts to public education, Gov. Walker and legislative Republicans enter the new legislative session claiming in media reports that they will pursue a moderate political agenda.

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/06/2013]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross said WMC spent $4 million to help elect Walker and support him in the recall elections. He said he questioned whether the appointment would help restore accountability to the WEDC. “Walker’s WEDC has come up so short because there is no accountability in handing out millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded giveaways to businesses,” Ross said. “And Walker’s ‘solution’ is to put a board member from the state’s biggest business lobby in charge.” [Badger Herald, 10/20/2012]

“Gov. Walker’s WEDC has proven to be as unaccountable and unsuccessful at getting the job done for Wisconsin as critics said it would be,” said Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. “Wisconsin is among the worst states in the nation in creating jobs under Walker and WEDC, and a steady stream of revelations show a poorly run agency that can’t even keep track of the grants and loans it’s giving out.” [Wisconsin State Journal, 10/18/2012]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross made the following statements regarding Gov. Scott Walker’s address to the Republican National Convention tonight:

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/27/2012]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding the 100th birthday of the late corporate propagandist Milton Friedman. Many of the failures of Gov. Scott Walker can be traced to the policies espoused by Friedman, most notably massive tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, while attacking public investments and public employees.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/30/2012]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements related to the sad news that once again Wisconsin has lost jobs under the failed policies of Gov. Scott Walker. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate rose and the state lost 13,200 jobs in June.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/18/2012]

While Gov. Scott Walker refuses to implement health care exchanges in Wisconsin, Minnesota’s progress on offering consumers and businesses the opportunity to leverage their resources to purchase affordable, private health insurance will, according to recent news reports, create 100 new jobs at Waukesha County based Connecture, Inc.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/17/2012]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding President Obama’s call for Congress to extend tax breaks for the middle class while allowing those for the wealthiest Americans to expire.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/08/2012]

An analysis of campaign finance reports by One Wisconsin Now found Gov. Walker’s record spending in the June 5th recall election was overwhelmingly fueled by large contributions from the wealthy and out-of-state donors.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/05/2012]

Gov. Walker’s political appointee in charge of the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) appears to be stonewalling the release of public records related to claims he made about the release of unverified state job numbers.

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/06/2012]

Questions continue to mount about Gov. Walker’s candor on serious issues, including his involvement in the secret John Doe investigation of corruption and illegal campaigning by close aides and associates and video showing him telling campaign contributors a very different story than the public. One Wisconsin Now Deputy Director Mike Browne called on Gov. Walker to address the questions about the integrity of his administration in tonight’s debate.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/24/2012]

One Wisconsin Now Deputy Director Mike Browne called on Gov. Walker’s campaign to release video to back up their “lucky guess” defense in response to questions about how his campaign was able to produce and run a new television ad citing job information from a state agency the same morning it was publicly released.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/17/2012]

One Wisconsin Now Deputy Director Mike Browne today announced the filing of public record requests associated with the suspicious timing of a new television ad from Gov. Walker’s campaign, containing previously undisclosed information from an administration jobs report, and denials of consultation between the agency producing the report and the Governor.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/16/2012]

Under Gov. Walker, Wisconsin’s economy has tanked, ranking dead last in the nation for job creation and suffering the ignominy of being the only state in the nation with statistically significant job losses over the last year. Meanwhile, Gov. Walker’s cross country cash grab has been a stunning success, netting two-thirds of the $13 million raised from out-of-state contributors, according to One Wisconsin Now’s analysis of his latest campaign finance report filed today.

[One Wisconsin Now, 04/29/2012]

“Gov. Scott Walker signed four bills relating to women’s reproductive health and pay equality without the usual public fanfare last Thursday, a move that came under fire from Democrats and advocacy groups. Walker signed the four bills into law on Thursday and announced their signing, along with 47 other bills, in a statement released the following day. The first three bills relate to abortions in the state, and the fourth relates to women’s health issues, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. One piece of legislation repeals Wisconsin’s Healthy Youth Act.”

[Badger Herald, 04/09/2012]

“The Equal Pay law wasn’t just about women—it also offered protection from discrimination based on race, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors. But it was enacted largely in response to a large gap between men and women’s compensation, one that was worse than average in Wisconsin—in 2009 the state ranked 36th in the country in terms of workplace gender parity...To bring a suit under the law, a plaintiff first had to go through a state-level administrative process to prove discrimination. It was rigorous enough that in the two years the law was in effect, not a single equal-pay lawsuit was filed. Still, the law’s supporters believe it has been effective in spurring businesses to pay women more fairly. Thus by 2010, the state had climbed to 24th in the national gender-parity rankings, with women making 78 percent as much as men, compared to 77 percent nationally. “Since the law was put into place, employers actually took notice and were very conscious of the fact that they had to follow this law or they were at risk of a lawsuit,” Sinicki argues.

[Daily Beast, 04/07/2012]

Walker, a Republican, signed the bills Thursday but didn't announce the move until midday Friday, when his office released a list of more than 50 bills he signed Thursday and Friday...Walker also signed a bill that prohibits workers from collecting damages in employment discrimination cases. Under current state law, employees who prevail in discrimination lawsuits can collect between $50,000 and $300,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. The Republican bill blocks anyone from collecting such damages in employment discrimination suits. The state Department of Workforce Development could still award an employee back pay, costs and attorney fees, however. Democrats say the bill hurts women who might suffer discrimination in the workplace. [Wisconsin State Journal, 04/07/2012]

A Wisconsin law that made it easier for victims of wage discrimination to have their day in court was repealed on Thursday, after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) quietly signed the bill. The 2009 Equal Pay Enforcement Act was meant to deter employers from discriminating against certain groups by giving workers more avenues via which to press charges. Among other provisions, it allows individuals to plead their cases in the less costly, more accessible state circuit court system, rather than just in federal court.

[Huffington Post, 04/06/2012]

The Equal Pay Enforcement Act gave victims of wage discrimination the ability to sue in state courts for punitive and compensatory damages. By repealing the law, Walker made it easier for corporations to discriminate because the adverse financial consequences were lessened if they were caught. In addition, filing suit in state courts is often cheaper and easier than going to federal court so victims may be less likely to pursue claims without the state court option.

[2011 SB 202, 04/05/2012]

The Virginia based, corporate-funded Republican Governors Association (RGA) announced in a press release today that it has returned to Wisconsin with negative television commercials attacking possible opponents of Gov. Walker in a recall election.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/22/2012]

The numbers are in and Wisconsin lost a net of 20,600 nonfarm jobs in 2011 with Scott Walker as Governor and Republicans in control of the state legislature.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/07/2012]

One Wisconsin Now Deputy Director Mike Browne made the following statement regarding Gov. Scott Walker’s latest special interest funded campaign ad:

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/04/2012]

2010 Politifact “Lie of the Year” award winner, GOP pollster Frank Luntz, addressed a gathering of CEOs sponsored by the state’s big business lobby today in Madison. One Wisconsin Now Deputy Director Mike Browne said Luntz will have his work cut out for him trying to boost Gov. Scott Walker’s record of job losses and policies that cut education and health care while doling out tax cuts for the wealthiest and corporations.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/15/2012]

Governor Scott Walker failed to tackle Wisconsin’s jobs crisis - posting six straight months of job losses here while nationally jobs are being added - and is now poised to take on “the truth” in his second State of the State address.

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/24/2012]

“Unfortunately, what could just be poor wording is made much worse by the fact that he also suggested he wanted to learn management techniques from Chin Shin-Chien, director of Tapei Zoo. To make matters worse, he invited Chin to speak and asked his general managers to listen to his advice, as well as inviting him to take part in his company's annual review. Gou and his general managers apparently listened carefully as Chin provided advice as to how to manage different types of animals, and asked Chin to put himself in the position of Hon Hai's chairman. It seems, unfortunately, there's a bit more than just jest to this analogy.” [ZDNet.com, 01/20/2012]

“Foxconn has been under scrutiny for the past two years after a series of suicides. Human rights organisations have criticised the company for their poor work practices, employee safety and alleged management negligence. Just last week, 300 Foxconn workers threatened to commit suicide in Foxconn's Wuhan plant over wages and working conditions, and were eventually coaxed down by the mayor of Wuhan after two days.” [ZDNet.com, 01/20/2012]

“’Hon Hai has a workforce of over one million worldwide and as human beings are also animals, to manage one million animals gives me a headache,’ said Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou at a recent year-end party, adding that he wants to learn from Chin Shih-chien, director of Taipei Zoo, regarding how animals should be managed.” [Want China Times, 01/19/2012]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements on the latest news that Gov. Scott Walker’s failed economic policies have resulted in six straight months of job loss in Wisconsin, despite job creation happening in states across the nation.

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/18/2012]

The failed economic agenda of Gov. Scott Walker continues as grim and disturbing news came today from the U.S. Department of Labor that for the week ending December 31, the state of Wisconsin had the second highest number of new unemployment claims of any state in the nation - 10,203 new claims. Michigan with 10,364 new claims, was the only state higher than Wisconsin.

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/11/2012]

The latest ad in Gov. Scott Walker’s multi-million dollar campaign continues to distort Walker’s record of failure on job creation and deficit reduction, including the false claim that Walker did not raise taxes.

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/02/2012]

“The jobs losses, cuts to schools and education, and enrichment of corporations paint a far more Dickensian picture than Walker’s ad,” said Scot Ross, leader of the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now. “Good thing he and the family are ‘volunteering’ for a food kitchen, because his policies are going to make even longer lines as more in the middle class fall into poverty because his policies aren’t working.” [Republic, 12/20/2011]

The “business owner” featured in the latest Scott Walker television ad saw his business grow 1,300 percent during the administration of Gov. Jim Doyle, according to a self-professed claim in the Business Times from 2008. The business owner is actually a vice chair at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, which donated $400,000 in 2010 to the Republican Governors Association to elect Walker.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/12/2011]

 The awful news this week about nearly 10,000 jobs being lost in Wisconsin has not stopped Gov. Scott Walker from his efforts to crisscross the country and raise unlimited campaign contributions the latest being an announcement he will keynote an event in Texas, hosted by that state's leading corporate-funded public policy outfit.

[One Wisconsin Now, 11/17/2011]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding the latest failure from Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled legislature: a total job loss of 9,700 in October. The news comes after Walker has held two separate so-called “special sessions” on jobs and signed into law $2.3 billion in new tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, while gutting public and higher education and health care, as well as stripping 175,000 workers of their rights.

[One Wisconsin Now, 11/16/2011]

Gov. Scott Walker continues to choose corporate special interest donors over the people of Wisconsin — offering a scheme that would cut health care for 65,000 Wisconsinites to pay off part of his $2.3 billion in new tax breaks for corporations and the rich passed since he took office.

[One Wisconsin Now, 11/09/2011]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding Sen. Mary Lazich’s (R-New Berlin) latest attempt to thwart the recall of Gov. Scott Walker — a never-before considered requirement for officially notarized recall signatures.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/26/2011]

With an ever-climbing state unemployment rate and reasonable pleas for action by the middle class, Gov. Scott Walker is offering what has become his gubernatorial calling card: a special-interest session of more corporate favors and less corporate accountability.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 10/18/2011]

Hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in potential economic development are stuck in limbo as officials continue to argue over new wind siting rules.…Those rules were scheduled to go into effect in March. But after taking office in January, Republican Gov. Scott Walker introduced a bill to dramatically increase setbacks.Officials in the wind industry said the governor’s proposal would ruin their business in Wisconsin.” [Wisconsin State Journal, 10/09/2011]

Despite Governor Walker’s message of the importance of paying off he State’s debt, newly created WEDC dropped more than $43,000 to by 74 iPads for all of its staff. Along with the 3g service and WiFi connection the total will amount to $60,000.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/07/2011]

Gov. Scott Walker, who gutted funds for public education, the University of Wisconsin and the technical college system by nearly $2 billion, will be greeted by a plane with a special message from One Wisconsin Now as he attends Saturday’s Badgers vs. Nebraska football game. The message: “RecallScottWalker.org _ One WI Now.”

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/29/2011]

Gov. Scott Walker, facing a steadily-increasing state unemployment rate despite passing $2.3 billion in tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy, has announced his latest scheme: charge the public $50 to attend a state-sponsored “jobs summit.” Walker’s fee will likely restrict public access, particularly the unemployed and those in need of jobs.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/19/2011]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding the latest failure from Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled legislature: a total job loss of 2,300 from July to August and the unemployment rate rising to 7.9 percent. The news comes after Walker signed into law $2.3 billion in new tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, while gutting public and higher education and health care, as well as stripping 175,000 workers of their rights. [Enewspf.com, 09/15/2011]

WEDC has been the source of some controversy. From its inception, critics worried it would wrestle with the same problems that plagued similar hybrid agencies in other states. In Texas, state leaders have gone after officials with TexasOne for making stock deals that allegedly cross the line into conflicts of interest. A Dallas Morning News investigation found the organization had final say over a fund that awarded $16 million to companies with ties to friends and supporters of Gov. Rick Perry, who is now running for the Republican nomination for president. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. got in trouble last year after awarding $9.1 million in tax credits to a convicted embezzler. And recently, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. was scrutinized for inflating job creation numbers and resisting efforts to open its books to the public. But according to Jadin, there is more than enough oversight in place to make sure his new agency will be accountable. "I can't imagine that Commerce was ever as accountable as we will be," Jadin said.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 08/30/2011]

The public-private hybrid agency officially opened July 1, but there still are no outward signs of its existence. Now, some eight weeks in, WEDC officials are working out the details. They've installed new human resources and payroll software, hired employees and set up customer-relations services. But they are trying to fill four vice president slots and several key director positions.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 08/30/2011]

There is this perception that we just took Commerce and privatized it, said Paul Jadin, Commerce secretary and CEO of WEDC. "The truth is, we are creating a whole new organization and there is a lot that goes into that." The governor signed legislation in February abolishing the Commerce Department and replacing it with WEDC, an agency free of the regulatory duties many felt hampered Commerce. Now, some eight weeks in, WEDC officials are working out the details. They've installed new human resources and payroll software, hired employees and set up customer-relations services. But they are trying to fill four vice president slots and several key director positions. And they're still wrestling with how to brand the agency. Should it go by its acronym and phonetic pronunciation, "weed-ic"? Or should it be "The Corporation"?...WEDC is tasked with one thing: attracting and retaining businesses. The agency was given an $83 million budget, almost twice what Commerce received for economic development. Since July, WEDC has awarded more than $34 million in grants it says have created more than 900 planned jobs. That's not a marked jump in the amount or number of awards from what Commerce disbursed in January through July, but officials say they are laying the groundwork for future success.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 08/30/2011]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding the latest failure from Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled legislature: 12,500 private sector jobs lost in July and the unemployment rate rising to its highest level in almost a year at 7.8 percent. The news comes after Walker signed into law $2.3 billion in new tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, while gutting public and higher education and health care, as well as stripping 175,000 workers of their rights.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/17/2011]

Scot Ross of the liberal muckraking group One Wisconsin Now jumped on the latest report. “Gov. Scott Walker and the Republicans controlling the Legislature promised us new jobs and they have delivered nothing but new corporate tax breaks and attacks on Wisconsin’s way of life,” he said in a statement. “This latest startling news, that 12,500 private sector jobs were lost in July, is the latest sign that Walker’s scheme of enriching corporate donors with our education and health care tax dollars is a failure.”

[CNBC, 08/17/2011]

Despite Gov. Scott Walker’s six-month sell-off of Wisconsin state government to corporate special interests at the cost of nearly $2 billion over the next decade, General Electric’s X-ray business just announced it is moving its Waukesha headquarters to Beijing, China. Walker and the Republican Legislature just handed out nearly $2 billion in new corporate tax breaks at the expense of schools, kids, seniors and workers. With this news, will Walker and the Republican Legislature finally admit that corporate tax breaks are a failure?

[Wisconsin State Journal, 08/04/2011]

Wisconsin Senate Republican are expected today to cut $56 million yearly from benefits for newly-unemployed Wisconsin workers just as figures show Wisconsin’s unemployment rate under Gov. Scott Walker has jumped higher than most states in the past two months. This vote comes after it was revealed Gov. Walker spent $500,000 for private legal counsel to the firm where Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus is partner.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/31/2011]

Despite Gov. Scott Walker’s six-month sell-off of Wisconsin state government to corporate special interests at the cost of nearly $2 billion over the next decade, General Electric’s X-Ray business just announced it is moving its Waukesha headquarters to Beijing, China.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/28/2011]

Walker eliminated the Green to Gold Fund, administered by the now defunct Department of Commerce. This was a “green jobs” initiative to encourage new manufacturing and technology related to the development of clean energy, so the state could gradually reduce its reliance on foreign oil. This fund offered $100 million in lower cost loans to manufacturers to retool and expand production related to clean energy. It required specific wage standards as a condition of the loan along with job creation and retention targets (2010 SB 651). The Office of Energy Independence is abolished as well. (2011 Act 32 Budget Comparison, Commerce Budget Summary, page 203, #14; 2011 Act 32 Budget Comparison, Administration Budget Summary, page 51, #19; 2011 Assembly Bill 40, inroduced 3/1/11; Senate Roll Call; Assembly Roll Call) [2011 WI Act 32, 06/26/2011]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding Gov. Scott Walker’s planned signing of the 2011-13 Wisconsin state budget on Sunday. Walker’s budget includes tax breaks for corporations and the rich that will cost the state of Wisconsin taxpayers $2.3 billion over the next decade. At the same time, they are raising taxes on the working poor by $70 million, dismantling public education by $1.6 billion and slashing the University of Wisconsin by $250 million.

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/23/2011]

Today's meeting of the WEDC board marks a new beginning in the relationship between job creators and government, Governor Walker said. "For too long the Department of Commerce was tasked with regulating job creators. This new public-private partnership will focus solely on the development of Wisconsin's economy and job market. Our number one priority is to create an environment that allows the private sector to get 250,000 people back to work by 2015. The WEDC will play an integral role in achieving this goal."

[State News Service, 05/18/2011]

A comprehensive analysis authored by the non-partisan One Wisconsin Institute shows that despite claims from Gov. Scott Walker, Wisconsin is not “broke.” The Institute's research contradicts Gov. Walker's assertion, pointing out Wisconsin's Gross Domestic Product has steadily rose the past twenty years and Wisconsin has plenty of overall wealth - but this wealth has shifted to those at the top of the income ladder, while Wisconsin's tax structure is built around the middle class.

[One Wisconsin Institute, 04/14/2011]

An announcement by Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday that Link Snacks Inc. of Minong, in Washburn County, will receive $75,000 in state tax credits came under fire from a liberal advocacy group because the top executive of the company, and the company, made political donations to the Republican Governors Association. The RGA spent heavily on Walker’s race for governor last year. Walker announced that Link Snacks, a manufacturer of meat snacks, will get economic development tax credits to invest in new equipment. The project will create seven jobs and represents $6.8 million in investments. But Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, said in a statement that “once again, Wisconsin taxpayers are footing Gov. Walker’s handouts to special interest campaign contributors.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 04/05/2011]

Gov. Scott Walker has announced a $75,000 taxpayer-financed grant to a company, who along with its Chief Executive Officer, donated nearly $50,000 in 2010 to the Republican Governors Association, which spent $5 million to elect Walker governor, according to a figures obtained from the Internal Revenue Service by One Wisconsin Now. Walker announced the taxpayer-financed grant to the company, Jack Links, Tuesday in a press release.

[One Wisconsin Now, 04/04/2011]

The enforcement of Executive Order #108 was suspended by Governor Walker as of March 2011. This Order was signed by Governor Doyle in 2005 to encourage the employment of apprentices on construction projects for the State of Wisconsin. In this way the state would help create opportunities for younger workers to learn the skills needed for employment in the building and construction trades.

[2011 Executive Order #18, Suspending Executive Order #108, 03/09/2011]

Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate will be flooded with over 16,000 petitions signed by Wisconsinites united against Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to use the government to take away the rights of workers across Wisconsin.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/16/2011]

MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to use the government to take away the rights of workers across Wisconsin has generated more than 5,000 petition signers in less than one day from all corners of Wisconsin to demand state legislators reject Walker’s undemocratic plan.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/13/2011]

Madison— Republican Gov. Scott Walker plans to pay for $140 million in new special interest spending signed into law in January by extending the state’s long term debt in a “scoop and toss” refinancing scheme that will cost untold tens of millions of dollars in additional debt for Wisconsin.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/10/2011]

One Wisconsin Now issued the following statements regarding Gov. Scott Walker’s enactment of the failed Indiana model for privatizing the taxpayer-financed Wisconsin Department of Commerce.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/08/2011]

MADISON, Wis. — Despite the state’s $3.3 billion deficit, Republican Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled state legislature have added over $140 million in new special interest spending to that tab. Walker and the Republicans have refused to show the job creation this spending will create.

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/27/2011]

Gov. Scott Walker’s misguided plan to create a supermajority for tax increases ignores that the taxes targeted have not been increased by the legislature in over 30 years. Similar supermajority measures in California have led to that state’s near economic collapse, a record-setting deficit and draconian cuts for critical public investments.

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/23/2011]

Insurance companies across the state could see a mass exodus of existing Wisconsin customers if rates do not drop immediately after passage of an insurance lobby-supported bill to reduce the required insurance coverage for state drivers. The insurance lobby has blamed required insurance levels for raising rates, leaving customers to reasonably expect rates to drop when the bill passes as part of Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican legislative majority’s historic job-free, deficit-hiking “Special Interest Session.”

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/20/2011]

It’s a goal that started as a campaign promise, one that drew scorn from critics such as the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, which wrote in February that adding 250,000 more employed people would drop the state’s unemployment rate to near zero. Today, by the same measure, the unemployment rate would sink below zero. [Milwaukee Magazine, 01/19/2011]

The Republican plan to give a tax break to high deductible private health savings accounts would increase the deficit $48 million in the next two years, create no jobs and would not increase access to health care. The plan is to be debated today at a joint legislative health committee.

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/10/2011]

Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now said his liberal group is among those that will attempt its own tally in an effort to determine which jobs Walker should and shouldn’t get credit for creating. [Wisconsin State Journal, 01/07/2011]

One Wisconsin Now released the following statements regarding Gov.-elect Scott Walker’s plan to put corporate special interests in charge of he taxpayer-financed Wisconsin Department of Commerce.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/27/2010]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements about Gov.-elect Scott Walker’s regulatory reform plan to reward corporate campaign donors by allowing them to rewrite state regulations.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/20/2010]

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements about today’s news regarding the Midwest High Speed Rail Initiative.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/08/2010]

One Wisconsin Now delivered the names of over 7,000 Wisconsinites from every corner of the state to the office of Gov.-elect Scott Walker who signed One Wisconsin Now’s “Save the Train” petition demanding Walker drop opposition to the high speed rail project for Wisconsin.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/02/2010]

The transition office of Republican Gov.-elect Scott Walker appears to be working with right wing radio host Vicki McKenna to manufacture opposition to the Midwest high speed rail project for Wisconsin, according to an email from, McKenna’s corporate account, obtained by One Wisconsin Now.

[One Wisconsin Now, 11/29/2010]

Wisconsin’s Republican U.S. House delegation has given fellow Republican and Gov.-elect Scott Walker a new option in his effort to kill the thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic development high speed rail would bring to Wisconsin: Pay for one thousandth of one percent of the cost of extending the Bush tax cuts to the wealthiest top two percent of income earners.

[One Wisconsin Now, 11/16/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker refuses to admit he would support a ban on embryonic stem cell research if elected governor, but Walker told supporters in 2005 he would have signed a bill Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed at the time that was a direct threat to embryonic stem cell research. Walker told his supporters of the ban in the November 10, 2005 “Walker Weekly,” an electronic newsletter during his failed previous bid for governor.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/19/2010]

The overwhelming benefits of high speed rail set for Wisconsin, including 13,000 new jobs, billions of dollars in benefits and reduced dependence on foreign oil, are the subject of a new One Wisconsin Now video produced by University of Wisconsin-Madison senior William Barnes. The video is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEwgv1fQDSQ.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/13/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, as part of his three-page agenda, has called for making “Wisconsin a highly attractive place to start a business by eliminating corporate taxes for the first two years of operation.” Analysis by One Wisconsin Now shows the plan would either be a budget-busting corporate loophole or would apply to few, if any businesses.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/06/2010]

In advance of tonight’s first debate between Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, One Wisconsin Now offered the following questions for County Executive Walker to answer about his tax cut plan for the rich and big business, his support for cutting children and working families from BadgerCare health coverage and his failed management of Milwaukee County.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/23/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s long career of supporting big oil, big banks and big insurance has paid off with enormous contributions for the Republican Governors Association, which has raised $27 million in 2010 alone and has already purchased $1 million in attack ads in Wisconsin. Total spending by the Republican Governors Association to support Walker’s anti-middle class priorities will likely top $2 million this year.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/17/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s long record of failed leadership, mismanagement and skewed priorities are featured on a new interactive and multi-media website www.ScottWalkerFailureFiles.com, researched and produced by One Wisconsin Now.

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/06/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker has promised to reveal his plans in the coming days to reduce the state government payroll, but if his Milwaukee County record is any indication of his plans, taxpayers will be socked with higher costs and compromised safety.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/05/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker refuses to detail how he will pay for his nearly $2 billion in tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the rich and big business. But he said late last week that wage and benefit cuts for state workers are one way to close the state’s $2 billion-plus projected state deficit. In order to finance both the tax cuts and close the deficit, Walker would need to cut state worker pay and benefits by 42 percent, or slash 29,000 state jobs.

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/14/2010]

The first television advertisement for Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s campaign for governor paid for by the Republican Party of Wisconsin not only is full of distortions and exaggerations, but also ignores the impact of his policies which have been disastrous for Milwaukee, a fact-check conducted by One Wisconsin Now concludes.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/24/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s latest campaign ad is riddled with falsehoods, distortions and half-truths about his disastrous record for Milwaukee County, according to a fact check of the ad conducted by One Wisconsin Now.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/17/2010]

“In response to Harley’s news, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, a Republican candidate for governor, claimed that the state’s move to combined reporting for corporate taxation had hurt the company. But Harley officials have said in the past that combined reporting…had nothing to do with its cutbacks. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/3/10]

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/06/2010]

Contrary to calls for fiscal restraint in his latest television advertisement, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker voted to increase state spending 84 percent as a member of the state Assembly and has proposed 35 percent in increases to county spending since 2002. Walker voted for $200 billion in total state budget spending, which led to a then-record $3 billion state budget deficit.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/21/2010]

“One recent dust-up involves Walker's talk of his help in landing GE Healthcare's $85 million headquarters in the Milwaukee County Research Park in Wauwatosa in 2004. But the former mayor of Wauwatosa said Walker's part in the project is overblown. ‘That's a good piece of revisionist history,’ said Theresa M. Estness, who was mayor of Wauwatosa from 2000 to 2008. The pitch to GE included more than $30 million in public funds, with nearly $28 million coming from Wauwatosa in the form of a grant and a low-interest loan to the developer to help woo GE and its 2,000 employees. ‘The county executive was never at the table negotiating this,’ she said, adding ‘there was never anyone from the county involved when we were negotiating with GE.’”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 03/21/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s criticism related to the Talgo company comes just two weeks after the company owned by a top Walker campaign donor and finance co-chair of his failed 2006 gubernatorial campaign did not receive a contract from the Spanish train maker.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/16/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is claiming he will create “250,000 jobs” in Wisconsin, which if done would essentially reduce the unemployment rate to zero. The lowest recorded unemployment rate in recent Wisconsin history is 2.4 percent in 1999.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/23/2010]

At Tuesday’s Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce lobbying luncheon Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker will likely find support from the corporate lobby for his $2-billion, budget-busting, deficit-doubling plan for tax breaks that mostly benefit corporations and the wealthiest Wisconsinites. What is less likely, is that Walker will explain which drastic cuts he would make to pay for this failed fiscal strategy, according to One Wisconsin Now.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/22/2010]

One Wisconsin Now released the following statements from Executive Director Scot Ross on the one-year anniversary of the successful America Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). ARRA has provided $2.76 billion to Wisconsin for job creation, schools, transportation, health care, energy and public safety among other critical needs. Over 44,000 Wisconsin jobs have been created, retained and funded through the Recovery Act funds, which some elected officials, most prominently Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, called for Wisconsin to reject.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/16/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s call for Wisconsin to reject federal Recovery Act funds for critical job creation and railway infrastructure needs reflects Walker’s long-time failure on transit issues, which have led to among other things, the nation’s highest transit fees for already-struggling Milwaukee County residents.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/15/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker has strongly opposed measures to provide more Wisconsin children, pregnant mothers and uninsured adults have affordable health care, at the same time taking more than $120,000 in campaign contributions from the health care industry in just the last six months alone.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/03/2010]

“Milwaukee County supervisors faulted County Executive Scott Walker on Monday, saying he hadn't developed a plan or designated staff to promote financing aid that could boost local economic development. Two major federal lending programs could be tapped by the county to assist private developers by lowering borrowing costs, but the county has been slow to market the aid, supervisors said. ‘That's the problem -- we don't have the staff and we really don't have a plan,’ despite a push by Walker to raise the profile of county economic development efforts, Supervisor Theo Lipscomb said….Supervisor Lynne De Bruin said it was disconcerting that Walker had not acted more aggressively in marketing the programs.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 01/26/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker wants to double Wisconsin’s projected $2-billion state budget deficit with a series of tax breaks that mostly benefit corporations and high-income people.

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/25/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s recent call for limits on critical BadgerCare health benefits for low-income or displaced workers and repeated criticism of state spending raises concerns he may favor cuts to BadgerCare programs that cover children and expectant mothers.

[One Wisconsin Now, 11/01/2009]

“Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker acknowledged Friday it was too late to apply for 350 county summer jobs he highlighted in an outdoor ceremony at Washington Park on the city's west side. ...Walker vetoed $100,000 of the funding for the program in the 2009 budget, but the County Board overrode the veto on a 15-4 vote. County Board Chairman Lee Holloway criticized Walker for publicizing a program he tried to kill.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/29/2009]

 Wisconsin Republican officials are responding to bipartisan overtures at the state and federal level by Democratic leaders by summarily rejecting efforts to create jobs, invest in infrastructure, reform health insurance and tackle the $5.4 billion deficit.

[One Wisconsin Now, 01/22/2009]

“Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker came under fire Tuesday for delays in hiring the county’s first engineer to oversee the county’s ‘green’ building projects. Although the position was created in July 2007 and money was set aside for it in this year's budget, the job remains vacant.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/29/2008]

“Milwaukee County's economic development efforts would get a lower profile under County Executive Scott Walker's 2009 budget. The Economic and Community Development Division would disappear, its duties parceled out to other departments. The county would no longer have an economic development director, but a lower-paid associate director of real estate, one rung lower, in a revised county bureaucracy. … County Supervisor Toni Clark said she would oppose Walker's move, calling economic development ‘probably the most important division of county government.’”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/03/2008]

“Walker's last two choices to lead the county economic development office, Bob Dennik and Tim Russell, came from his campaign and lacked depth in the development business, Clark said. Dennik left the post this week to become an executive with a Pewaukee construction company. Russell is now Walker's community relations director. ‘Walker chooses folks who don't have -the necessary- experience,’ she said. Dennik came under repeated fire from the board the last two years over disappointing land sales results that put the county budget in a jam.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/03/2008]