Research Briefing

Obama Returns To Wisconsin Pushing The Same Failed Policies The State Rejected Last November

“Wednesday, President Obama Will Use His First Opportunity To Follow Up On His State Of The Union To Travel To Manitowoc, Wis., About 40 Miles South Of Green Bay, To Deliver An Economic Speech To Employees At A Power Technology Company.” (John R. Parkinson, “Wisconsin Ground Zero For 2012 Election,” ABC News, 1/25/11)

LAST NIGHT’S STATE OF THE UNION SOUNDED ALL TOO FAMILIAR

TO WISCONSINITES …

January 2011: Obama Calls For More Infrastructure Spending. “To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information – from high-speed rail to high-speed internet.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address, U.S. Capitol, 1/25/11)

September 2010: In Milwaukee, WI, Obama Calls For More Infrastructure Spending. “Now, let me tell you, another thing we’ve done is to make long-overdue investments in upgrading our outdated, our inefficient national infrastructure.  We’re talking roads.  We’re talking bridges.  We’re talking dams, levees.  But we’re also talking a smart electric grid that can bring clean energy to new areas. We’re talking about broadband Internet so that everybody is plugged in.  We’re talking about high-speed rail lines required to compete in a 21st century economy.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks by the President at Laborfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, 9/6/10)

______________________________________________________________________

January 2011: Obama Pushes High-Speed Rail. “Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail, which could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying – without the pat-down. As we speak, routes in California and the Midwest are already underway.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address, U.S. Capitol, 1/25/11)

September 2010: Obama Pushes High-Speed Rail. “We’re going to continue our strategy to build a national high-speed rail network that reduces congestion and travel times and reduces harmful emissions.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks by the President at Laborfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, 9/6/10)

______________________________________________________________________

January 2011: Obama Proposes Closing Tax Loopholes To Invest In Clean Energy. “With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. We need to get behind this innovation. And to help pay for it, I’m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address, U.S. Capitol, 1/25/11)

September 2010: Obama Proposes Closing Tax Loopholes To Invest In Clean Energy. “And instead of giving tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas, we’re cutting taxes to companies that are putting our people to work right here in the United States of America. See, we want to invest in growth industries like clean energy and manufacturing.”  (President Barack Obama, Remarks by the President at Laborfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, 9/6/10)

______________________________________________________________________

January 2011: Obama Calls For A Reorganization Of The Federal Government. “In the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America. I will submit that proposal to Congress for a vote – and we will push to get it passed.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address, U.S. Capitol, 1/25/11)

September 2010: Obama Calls For A Reorganization Of The Federal Government “We want to cut waste and bureaucracy and consolidate and collapse more than 100 different programs that too often duplicate each other.  So we want to change the way Washington spends your tax dollars.  We want to reform a haphazard, patchwork way of doing business.  We want to focus on less wasteful approaches than we’ve got right now.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks by the President at Laborfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, 9/6/10)

… THEY DIDN’T LIKE IT THE FIRST TIME

“Few States Handed Democrats A Bigger Defeat In The Midterm Elections Than Wisconsin, And Few Rebuffed President Obama So Completely.” (Scott Bauer, “Democrats Hope Obama Shakes The Wisconsin Blues,” The Associated Press, 1/24/11)

Democrats Blame Their “Disastrous” Midterm Results On Obama’s Failure To Manage The Economy And The Deficit. “But many Democrats haven't forgotten the disastrous midterm, the first time since 1938 that Wisconsin's entire Legislature and governor's office flipped from one party to another. More than a few blame a president and national party they believe strayed from the priority of managing the economy and federal budget.” (Scott Bauer, “Democrats Hope Obama Shakes The Wisconsin Blues,” The Associated Press, 1/24/11)

Wisconsin Democrat: Obama And The White House “Got Bogged Down With White House Politics And They Failed To Communicate With The American People.”  “‘Let's face it, for too long the president and his advisers got bogged down with White House politics and they failed to communicate with the American people,’ said Wisconsin state Sen. Bob Jauch, a Democrat from the northwest corner of the state who barely won re-election in November with 51 percent of the vote.” (Scott Bauer, “Democrats Hope Obama Shakes The Wisconsin Blues,” The Associated Press, 1/24/11)

The Results Of The 2010 Midterm Was “The Democrats' Nightmare, A State That Obama Won Quite Handily Has Suddenly Switched At All Levels.” “’I think it's the Democrats' nightmare, a state that Obama won quite handily has suddenly switched at all levels,’ said Charles Franklin, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.” (John R. Parkinson, “Wisconsin Ground Zero For 2012 Election,” ABC News, 1/25/11)

WITH THE ECONOMY STILL SUFFERING, IT FEELS LIKE DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

Chief Economist For NFIB Said “We Still Haven’t Got Main Street Firing On Many Pistons.”  “It’s not that sales haven’t been improving, but it’s improving from a really horrible level of a year ago,” said William C. Dunkelberg, chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business. “We still haven’t got Main Street firing on many pistons.” (Motoko Rich, “Uncertainty Over Economy Clouds Obama Speech,” The New York Times, 1/24/11)

Jason W. Speer, A Small Business Owner In Chicago, Said He Was Ready To Hire More People But Has Decided Not To Because He Is Afraid Of New Regulations.  “Other small businesses are concerned about what they view as onerous regulation. Jason W. Speer, vice president of Quality Float Works, a small manufacturer of parts that are used in valves and pumps in the agricultural and oil industries, said the company hired six people last year, after letting four workers go during the recession. Mr. Speer said the company, in Schaumburg, Ill., northwest of Chicago, was ready to hire two more people, but was hesitating in part because of fear of new regulations and the burden of increased corporate taxes in Illinois.” (Motoko Rich, “Uncertainty Over Economy Clouds Obama Speech,” The New York Times, 1/24/11)

Speer Said Instead Of Hiring Or Buying New Equipment, They’re “Paying To Cover US For Regulation Issues.”  “‘Every little bit helps or hurts in a small company,’ said Mr. Speer. ‘There’s a lot of agencies now that are coming out with new rulings and regulations, and it’s hard to keep up with that. So instead of hiring or giving bonuses or buying new equipment, we’re paying to cover us for regulation issues.’”  (Motoko Rich, “Uncertainty Over Economy Clouds Obama Speech,” The New York Times, 1/24/11)

The National Unemployment Rate Is 9.4 Percent. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed: 1/25/11)

• The Real Unemployment Rate, Which Includes Those Who Are Forced To Work Part Time Because They Cannot Find Full Time Work, Is 16.7 Percent.  (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed: 1/24/11)

There Are Currently 14.5 Million Unemployed Americans.  (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed: 1/24/11)

• Nearly Half Of The Unemployed Have Been Unemployed For Longer Than Six Months.  (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed: 1/24/11)