Economy

BREAKING VIDEO: Scott Brown: "I'm not going to create one job. It's not my job to create jobs."

Here is Scott Brown's job creation plan in his own words:

"Here's the thing, people say, what are you going to do to create jobs, I am not going to create one job, it is not my job to create jobs. It's yours."

Bruce Rauner: The Everyman with the Cayman Islands Account

In last month's edition of Bruce Rauner: The Everyman, we brought you to his $100,000 parking spot in Chicago. This month,…

It Gets Worse: The Math on Scott Walker's Job Creation Pledge

With just a few short months left to go in Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s first term, his signature campaign promise — the creation of 250,000 new Wisconsin jobs in four years — is destined for failure. Months ago, PolitiFact noted that “most everyone agrees his promise of 250,000 new jobs in four years won’t be met,” due to the slow rate of job growth in the state. Fast forward to this week and Walker’s job creation prospects have gotten even worse. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics as reviewed by PolitiFact, Wisconsin actually had negative job growth in May and June, for a total of about -1,700 jobs. Not only has Scott Walker failed to add even half of the jobs he promised during his first term, job growth is backsliding in Wisconsin and significantly lags behind neighboring Midwestern states. We’re not math experts, but we do know that you can’t add jobs by subtracting them — yet Walker and his appointees have rewarded companies that outsource jobs out of Wisconsin, just one example of the misguided economic policies that make impossible the fulfillment Walker’s job creation promise. Politifact breaks down the latest BLS data on Wisconsin jobs — check out key highlights from their analysis after the jump.

Walker-Appointed WEDC Chief DEFENDS Giving Tax Breaks To Outsourcers

Wow. When it was first uncovered that Scott Walker's WEDC was giving massive tax credits to companies that ship jobs…

Scott Walker's WEDC Nightmare Continues

Scott Walker hasn't seen a good headline in a loooong time. Last week was no exception. Walker has been getting hammered by the media after a WKOW investigation revealed that Walker's economic development agency, WEDC, has given tax credits to companies that ship jobs overseas. Moreover, the companies at the heart of the controversy, and their board members, have donated significant money to the Walker campaign. The outsourcing debacle has been covered by ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates across Wisconsin, from Madison and Green Bay to LaCrosse and Wausau, and an AP story has been picked up across the country. Scott Walker is having all sorts of trouble bringing new jobs to Wisconsin. But he's pretty good at shipping them away.

Rick Scott's tax returns: unearthed and searchable

Yesterday, in an attempt to give off an air of transparency, Rick Scott released a few years of tax returns. Of course, he didn't want to make it too easy on anyone who might be interested in digging through them--they were not downloadable or searchable. Luckily, American Bridge is here to help Scott take his disclosure efforts a step further. Feel free to search through his records after the jump.

Scott Walker, Where Are The Jobs? (They're In Other States)

Scott Walker isn't just failing to fulfill his own job creation promise--he's failing to keep up with surrounding states. A new report shows that Wisconsin has created about 45,000 fewer jobs than would have been expected if the state kept up with historical trends. Moreover, the analysis shows that by December of 2010, towards the end of the Doyle administration, Wisconsin had regained a higher percentage of jobs lost in the recession than any other state included in the study. But by September of 2013, after three years under Gov. Walker and his hyper-conservative policies, Wisconsin had recovered a fewer percentage of its jobs than Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa and Indiana. The state's job gap doubled in Walker's first year, and increased again in his second year. This report is more than just a confirmation that Scott Walker's agenda has been bad for Wisconsin. It's a real-world indictment of the very policies that the Republican Party constantly champions. We've been told time and time again that if only we slashed taxes and shrank government, the free market would bring prosperity to all. But this austere path has only stifled once-booming job growth in Wisconsin, and the state is set to spend $559 million more than it takes in next year. Walker's conservatism has long been the toast of the GOP. Chris Christie praised his reforms for making Wisconsin "a better place to live and work." Grover Norquist declared that "his success in Wisconsin will change America." And AFP president, Tim Phillips lauded his agenda as "the new model for the country." Well, the results are in. The model has failed. And America is not soon to follow in Walker's footsteps.

Wisconsin's Economy Is Struggling Under Gov. Walker, But AFP Has $866K To Tell You Otherwise

Scott Walker has long-been considered a darling of the Tea Party movement and a contender for the 2016 Republican nomination for president. But these days, things aren't going so well for Walker, who has been tainted by scandals, and new polling shows him tied with Democratic contender Mary Burke in his reelection bid. Cue Walker's allies, the Koch-funded group Americans for Prosperity. AFP has already poured $10 million into supporting Walker's extreme agenda in Wisconsin, just announced that they are spending nearly $900,000 on a new ad to help the embattled governor. The ad, which champions Walker's budget reform, is called "It's Working!" Only there's one problem: It isn't! The speakers in the ad praise Walker for his "bold leadership" on budget reform, "keeping education dollars in the classroom," and the fact that "Wisconsin's getting back to work, too." But just last week, it was reported that Wisconsin is set to spend $559 million more than it takes in next year, and job growth in the state continues languish in the bottom third, nationally. Scott Walker ran for governor promising to create 250,000 jobs by the end of his first term, but PolitiFact Wisconsin now says the current job growth pace "is not nearly enough to meet the goal." And on top of all that, he implemented the biggest education cuts in Wisconsin history. Yet another misleading ad from AFP, another poor economic record from a high-profile Republican governor (see Christie, Chris).

Downgraded: Christie's Record on the Economy

New Jersey's economy has hit a major traffic jam under Christie's leadership, and this afternoon the scandal-tainted governor will attempt to save face in the face of this year's $800M budget shortfall. One major credit rating agency after the next has downgraded New Jersey's debt, with Moody's becoming the latest just last week. Add to that a state unemployment rate well above the national average and a record of private job growth that ranks near the bottom in the country since he took office, and Garden State taxpayers aren't just stuck with Christie's self-exoneration bills--they're stuck with his sluggish economy too. Watch American Bridge's new video above and see how bad things have gotten in New Jersey under Christie.

Ed Gillespie & Mitt Romney's 47% Problem

As Ed Gillespie prepares to campaign with Mitt Romney in New York City this evening, Virginia voters should take a look at Gillespie's record as a surrogate for Romney's losing presidential campaign in 2012. When Romney's infamous "47 percent" comments came to light, disparaging millions of Americans like seniors who rely on Social Security and veterans who receive benefits from their service to the country, Ed Gillespie came to Romney's defense. Gillespie backed up Romney's comments when asked about it during an appearance on the Today Show, saying: "that's political analysis, that's not a governing philosophy."