By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
For all of the rhetoric circulating around the state Capitol from the GOP concerning job creation, the talk has proven to be extremely cheap. One of Scott Walker’s seminal pledges during his campaign for governor was the promise to create 250,000 new jobs for Wisconsin residents.
A quick examination of the facts underscores the true reality about the paucity (or lack thereof!) of job growth under this administration. Since taking office in January, the governor has managed to thumb his nose at an $810 million (fullyfunded) federal high-speed rail project for Wisconsin, not to mention the thousands of jobs that would have ensued from an undertaking of this magnitude. If that wasn’t myopic enough, Scott Walker has used not one but two special session calls to disguise his real intent: giving additional tax breaks to businesses and repaying his political cronies.
The Legislature in currently in the midst of its last floor period for this year, which overlaps with the governor’s latest special session request. To date, the Legislature has considered a myriad of bills but few, if any, truly promote job creation.
To illustrate my point, Senate Bill 107 was clearly one of the most egregious bills that Assembly considered last Tuesday. The legislation, in essence, prohibits local units of government from enacting ordinances which enhance housing access for many low-income people or restricts a landlord’s ability to deny housing based on income, arrest, conviction record and production of a Social Security Number.
Proponents of this draconian measure argue that it provides greater “uniformity in tenant/landlord relations” and gives landlords the necessary tools to screen prospective tenants effectively.
If you are like me, you are probably wondering what does this bad housing bill have to do with creating jobs or putting people back to work? For all the talk from this governor and his Republican lackeys, there is little to show. This begs the question: Where’s the beef (JOBS)?!