According to a new study by UW-MKE professor Marc Levine, jobs in middle-class occupations decreased and have been steadily declining since 2000. But something is happening in Wisconsin since 2010.
JS Online Excerpt:
"Since 2010, the recovery has been extraordinarily heavily weighted — all of the net growth in Wisconsin has been in the low-wage category," Levine said.
I would hope that when folks first heard Gov. Scott Walker call public employees "haves" and taxpayers "have-nots," everyone knew he was on a mission to make everyone a "have not." Everyone except for his wealthy elite donor base that is. There is no other way around it.
Clearly, Scott Walker isn't fighting low-wage jobs growth, his "reforms" are fostering it. That single "haves and haves not" statement is the crux of his classwar "divide and conquer" strategy ...and it's working.
The handwriting was on the wall when Walker's flacks set up data bases and sent out mailers of public employees listing their salaries and benefits to purposely drive wage envy rage in families and communities across Wisconsin.
In Janesville, we have seen these mailings first-hand and heard some local officials explain how Wisconsin workers have enjoyed good wages for "too long," and how benefits and even civil rights are "burdens" on economic development. We have seen leaders of the local "divide and conquer" business group, Forward Janesville, literally giggle and gloat because area workers seeking jobs after the GM closure will be forced to take much less pay for their work. It's both very telling and disappointing that many of these operatives are still part of the community or holding important policy-writing public jobs - like as if nothing happened.
I obviously don't get it.
The hate-based wage envy "divide and conquer" strategy all trickles down from the top and since 2010, it began pouring in Wisconsin. As long as Walker remains governor, there is no let up in sight of this dirty rotten campaign.
1 comment:
To me, the very definition of "low-information voter" is someone who doesn't realize how thoroughly they're being used as a tool by the Walker/Koch/Hendricks/WMC/ALEC axis to drive down wages across the board in order to benefit a handful of billionaires.
Here in Wisconsin we have an even more disturbing variant of the above--someone who does realize it, and (inexplicably) doesn't care. Apparently hating on civil servants and teachers is worth destroying the economic fabric of the state they live in. Pretty good illustration of "cutting off your nose to spite your face".
Post a Comment