State of the State 2017: Scott Walker is a Failed Governor

MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker delivers his 2017 state of the state speech today having still failed to meet the major promise of his 2010 campaign, to create 250,000 new jobs, and overseeing an administration that has shown a serious inability to effectively carry out basic state functions or improve the quality of life for Wisconsinites. Walker, a career politician, is looking toward another run for office in 2018, meaning he will again ignore the reality of his administration’s failures in his speech, according to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross.

“No one expects Gov. Walker to take off his rose colored glasses for the state of the state speech,” commented One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. “But the failures of Gov. Walker and his administration to deliver on their promises, improve the quality of life for Wisconsinites or even competently manage the state is clear for everyone to see.”

Ross noted that Walker could have met his 2010 campaign jobs promise had he simply been able to keep up with neighboring states or maintain the national average for job creation emerging from the 2008 Bush recession. Under President Obama, the country has enjoyed a record-setting 75 straight months of private sector job growth. Under Walker, Wisconsin is behind lagging a majority of the nation and neighboring Midwestern states in job creation for most of his tenure.

While he has failed to create jobs, Walker has been exemplary in creating excuses for his economic shortcomings. For example, at various times Walker has blamed Wisconsin’s economic malaise on the weather, the Greek debt crisis, drugs and video games, and his predecessor as Governor who has been out of office for six years.

Basic managerial competence has also been a struggle for the Walker regime. In 2016 alone, agency heads for the Departments of Corrections, Transportation and Veterans Affairs all announced or made their resignations amidst crises – a federal investigation of abuse of residents of a home for troubled youth, substandard care at state run facilities and mismanagement of programs for armed service veterans, and a $1 billion transportation fund deficit and rapidly deteriorating state infrastructure.

By other measures, Walker’s administration delivers failure instead of results for Wisconsin families. The state remains in the top five nationally for the percentage of college graduates with student debt and Walker has opposed a plan to allow the state’s student loan borrowers the chance to refinance their loans like you can a mortgage. Public schools still have not recovered from the record cuts implemented by Walker, with school funding increasingly shifting to local property taxes, and hundreds of millions of dollars have been lost in irresponsible tax giveaways to the wealthy and ineffective economic development efforts.

Meanwhile Walker continues to try to maintain relevance in the state and a national profile after his disastrous and embarrassing campaign for the presidency that collapsed when after merely 71 days as an official candidate Walker was deep in debt and polling at zero percent.

“Gov. Scott Walker has stood before the legislature and the people of Wisconsin time after time promising he has a plan for more jobs and prosperity and time after time he has not delivered. The state of this administration is undeniable, it is a failure,” concluded Ross.