Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker came into office last year promising to balance the budget and create 250,000 jobs in his first term. Those promises were part of his justification for a series of changes, from stripping union rights to giving tax breaks to businesses.
The question of whether Walker has balanced the budget depends on how you count it and also, to some extent, creative direction of Wisconsin’s share from the multi-state mortgage settlement.
The question of whether he’ll make good on his promise to create 250,000 jobs also depends — in this case, on whether the state economy suddenly goes into super-ultra-hyper-overdrive. The chart above comes from Badgerstat.org, which notes that Wisconsin job numbers have been going in the opposite of the “target direction.” If the pattern of recent months holds, Wisconsin might have fewer jobs now than when Walker took over. Already the numbers from last year made Wisconsin a national standout, but for losing jobs rather than gaining them.
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