Gov. Scott Walker's re-election campaign has shifted gears on the issue of private-sector job growth in Wisconsin.
His new TV ads focus on how Wisconsin is doing compared to other states in one month. Democratic ads have cited federal statistics over a three-year period that show Wisconsin ranking last among 10 Midwestern states. Walker's TV ads say Wisconsin is third among 12 Midwestern states.
Interestingly, the new approach is the same one that the Walker administration denounced just 14 months earlier because less than 4 percent of employers are involved in making the monthly estimates.
A Walker administration press release in June of 2013 said: "The monthly job estimates are flawed and a poor indicator of economic outlook in Wisconsin. Thus any study or ranking using the monthly estimate should be viewed with increased scrutiny."
A more accurate picture is reflected by the federal government's quarterly census of employers and wages, the Walker administration said last year. That is the data base that Democrats cite in their ads.
More importantly, the new Walker approach will enable conservative radio talk shows to hail job growth under the Walker administration. That should help maintain the governor's right-wing base of support. The latest Marquette University Law School poll shows Walker is a dead-heat with Democratic gubernatorial challenger Mary Burke.
Using a new set of numbers is different for the Walker campaign. During the early months of the campaign the employment issue was met by arguing that Walker's job growth record is a lot better than that of former Democrat Jim Doyle who was governor when the recession hit. Burke had served in Doyle's cabinet.
Walker had been so confident of that approach that he said voters would not hold it against him for failing to fulfill his 2010 campaign promise of creating 250,000 private sector jobs in four years in office. Latest numbers suggest Walker may not even reach half of the campaign promise.
New federal numbers are due out next week. Both sides are likely to find something they like in the upcoming data. Stay tuned.
Other economic issues also are elbowing their way into the gubernatorial campaign. State government tax receipts are $281 million below budget estimates. Democrats argue that Republicans should have focused tax-cutting efforts on the property tax rather than the income tax.
- Matt Pommer, a 35-year veteran of covering state government in Madison, writes the weekly State Capitol Newsletter for the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. His column is published Monday in the Times.
His new TV ads focus on how Wisconsin is doing compared to other states in one month. Democratic ads have cited federal statistics over a three-year period that show Wisconsin ranking last among 10 Midwestern states. Walker's TV ads say Wisconsin is third among 12 Midwestern states.
Interestingly, the new approach is the same one that the Walker administration denounced just 14 months earlier because less than 4 percent of employers are involved in making the monthly estimates.
A Walker administration press release in June of 2013 said: "The monthly job estimates are flawed and a poor indicator of economic outlook in Wisconsin. Thus any study or ranking using the monthly estimate should be viewed with increased scrutiny."
A more accurate picture is reflected by the federal government's quarterly census of employers and wages, the Walker administration said last year. That is the data base that Democrats cite in their ads.
More importantly, the new Walker approach will enable conservative radio talk shows to hail job growth under the Walker administration. That should help maintain the governor's right-wing base of support. The latest Marquette University Law School poll shows Walker is a dead-heat with Democratic gubernatorial challenger Mary Burke.
Using a new set of numbers is different for the Walker campaign. During the early months of the campaign the employment issue was met by arguing that Walker's job growth record is a lot better than that of former Democrat Jim Doyle who was governor when the recession hit. Burke had served in Doyle's cabinet.
Walker had been so confident of that approach that he said voters would not hold it against him for failing to fulfill his 2010 campaign promise of creating 250,000 private sector jobs in four years in office. Latest numbers suggest Walker may not even reach half of the campaign promise.
New federal numbers are due out next week. Both sides are likely to find something they like in the upcoming data. Stay tuned.
Other economic issues also are elbowing their way into the gubernatorial campaign. State government tax receipts are $281 million below budget estimates. Democrats argue that Republicans should have focused tax-cutting efforts on the property tax rather than the income tax.
- Matt Pommer, a 35-year veteran of covering state government in Madison, writes the weekly State Capitol Newsletter for the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. His column is published Monday in the Times.
