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He will probably blame the weather for yet another dismal Wisconsin jobs report - - as if it were warm and sunny in the other 49 states - - but leading the nation in new jobless claims counted by the federal government blows another hole in Scott Walker's failed record as a jobs creator.

From the federal data released Thursday which has Wisconsin reporting more new jobless claims in the week ending February 1st than big states like New York, Ohio and others:



STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000

Change WI +5,041

State Supplied Comment No comment.

And how telling is that state "no comment"?

Sunday 10 a.m. update: I should have inserted this quote from the labor department's release, as it states:

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 1 were in Wisconsin (+5,041), New York (+4,830), Pennsylvania (+2,448), New Jersey (+1,853), and Ohio (+1,780), while the largest decreases were in California (-9,631), Georgia (-2,558), Indiana (-2,444), Michigan (-2,411), and Florida (-1,387). I also edited "early February" above to "the week ending February 1st."

Walker is now in the absurd position of embarking on campaigns for re-election and national stature with an ineffective, stumbling record of economic leadership, by the numbers.

He might be able to find a business newsletter somewhere that ranks Wisconsin among the top states in which to break a union, or find a chart that shows one month in a bygone quarter where Wisconsin incorporated more scout packs and ping-pong clubs than other states with nine or more letters in their names, but when Walker ran for Governor it was on jobs, jobs, jobs, of which there are fewer, fewer, fewer.

More, here.

The truth is that Act 10's enforced austerity stalled the recovery here, that instituting business tax cuts and hiring credits while handing back to everyday Wisconsiites the surplus at the rate of a Happy Meal a week are worn-out bumper-sticker palliatives, that cutting state revenue to big cities where poor people live while raising taxes on low-income citizens - - PolitiFact gave Walker a "broken promise" for that - - only embed poverty - - as does Walker's opposition to raising the poverty-enforcing minimum wage.

And that turning back federal billions set aside for Amtrak rail and train construction, and for health-care expansion, too, further starved home budgets, consumer spending and growth statewide.

The numbers don't lie.

Under Walker, Wisconsin's job growth lags the country's and there is no reason to think sudden prospertiy is just around the corner.

After three years of Walker, we're #1 in failed promises because inept leadership - - and that includes Walker's obedient Legislature - - confuses ideology with innovation.

It's time for Walker to own the reality and consequences of his malaise, stop saying he's turned around a state that's foundering, and get off the campaign-cash trail to stay home - - and do his job.

A state policy of "No comment" doesn't cut it.

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