Wisconsin and Minnesota: A One-Sided Political Competition

[Lando Lincoln]

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/wisconsin-and-minnesota-one-sided-political-competition

Wisconsin and Minnesota: A One-Sided Political Competition
By Steve Benen
March 5, 2015

Wisconsin and Minnesota have long made fascinating bookends. As longtime readers may recall, the two neighboring states have similar sizes, similar populations, similar demographics, and even similar climates. But they don’t necessarily have similar politics, at least not lately.
 
In the 2010 elections, the Badger State elected Scott Walker (R) governor and gave control of the legislature to Republicans, while the Gopher State made Mark Dayton (D) governor and, in 2012, elected a Democratic legislature*. The former got to work targeting collective bargaining and approving tax cuts, while the latter raised taxes on the wealthy and boosted in-state investments.
 
Nearly five years later, one of these two states is doing quite well. Policy.mic had an interesting report this week.
Since 2011, Minnesota has been doing quite well for itself. The state has created more than 170,000 jobs, according to the Huffington Post. Its unemployment rate stands at 3.6% – the fifth-lowest in the country, and far below the nationwide rate of 5.7% – and the state government boasts a budget surplus of $1 billion. Forbes considers Minnesota one of the top 10 in the country for business.
As Patrick Caldwell recently explained very well, Minnesota’s gains come on the heels of tax increases on Minnesota’s top 2% and higher corporate taxes, both of which state Republicans said would crush Minnesota’s economy. As for their neighbors to the east:
By a number of measures, Wisconsin hasn’t fared as well as Minnesota. As the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal reports, Wisconsin’s job growth has been among the worst in the region, and income growth is one of the worst in the country. It has a higher unemployment rate than Minnesota. And the budget is in bad shape.
Back in January, the editorial board of LaCrosse Tribune wrote, “The governors of Wisconsin and Minnesota each presented their versions of new year’s resolutions in various media interviews last week….Which approach is better? As we enter the new year, Minnesota is clearly winning by a long shot.”
 
Political scientist Lawrence Jacobs published a related comparison a while back, which drew a similar conclusion: “The lesson from the upper Midwest is that rigid anti-tax dogma fails to deliver a convincing optimistic vision that widens economic opportunity and security. The excesses of liberalism may lurk, but Minnesota is building a modern progressivism that plows a hopeful path.”
 
Comparisons between states can be inherently tricky, but that’s what makes the Minnesota/Wisconsin test so interesting – two similar, neighboring states, trying very different approaches at the exact same time, facing identical national conditions.
 
I’d imagine most Republicans might find the results hard to explain.

* Correction: Minnesotans elected a Democratic governor for 2011, but a Republican-led legislature. The Democratic majority returned for the 2013-2014 session.

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My brother sent this to me and asked me to respond.  I have some ideas framed in my mind but I ask for, invite, and welcome your input.  Please, please help me rebut this in an unemotional way. 

#1 - it is on the Rachel Maddow blog
#2 - we have no idea of the starting point
#3 - A 4-year snapshot is absurd for a lot of reasons
#4 - Demographics

Lando

[Lando Lincoln]

I will likely bump this... I want a good response.  He is the guy whose head explodes so dramatically over Scott Walker.

[Lando Lincoln]

Please help.  Some uber-connected and bright people here.  I am grateful.

[alicewonders]

Please help.  Some uber-connected and bright people here.  I am grateful.

I wish I could help you Lando, but I'm not very well read on the two states.  Rachel Maddow is a sneaky and deceptive man....oops - woman.  So, I tend not to trust anything she says.  I'm sure there are people on the board that have more familiarity - I think Once-ler is in Wisconsin.  You may have to bump this for the next 24 hours to get your answers since it is late at night.

The fact that she feels she has to try to refute any success stories coming out of Scott Walker's state tells me she is concerned about Walker - and that probably she has received her talking points from on high.  The same with your brother.  Liberals all tend to jump on the same talking points at the same time, so I think they are instructed to do so. 

Wish I could help you. 

[jmyrlefuller]

Well, it appears she is totally making things up on the Wisconsin statistics.

By a number of measures, Wisconsin hasn’t fared as well as Minnesota. As the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal reports, Wisconsin’s job growth has been among the worst in the region, and income growth is one of the worst in the country. It has a higher unemployment rate than Minnesota. And the budget is in bad shape.

Income growth in the PUBLIC SECTOR may have been hurt, but that is almost always a net drain on the economy anyway because it is forcibly taken from private sector people's otherwise disposable income. The claims of budget trouble are flat-out lies; Wisconsin's government is actually in surplus.

Minnesota, on the other hand, is struggling a lot more—even the NFL lost money in Minnesota and there was a real concern that the Vikings may have had to leave town.

As alicewonders said, someone closer to Wisconsin may be able to help you a little more than I, but the fact is that this blogentry  is making up its own facts.

[Lando Lincoln]

Thank you guys.   

Steve Benen - certainly an ideologue - from Wikipedia:

Steve Benen (born May 15, 1973) is an American political writer and blogger, an MSNBC contributor, and a producer for The Rachel Maddow Show.

From August 2008 to January 2012, Benen was the lead blogger for the Washington Monthly's "Political Animal" blog.[1] He was the publisher of the political blog The Carpetbagger Report for five years[2] and was the lead editor of Salon.com's Blog Report.

Benen's articles and op-eds have appeared in a variety of publications, including the Washington Monthly, The American Prospect, The Huffington Post, and the New York Daily News. He has been a contributor to Talking Points Memo, Crooks and Liars, The Guardian, AlterNet, Political Wire, and Seven Days.

He has been a guest on several radio and television programs, including NPR’s Talk of the Nation,[3] MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC’s The Ed Show, MSNBC's Martin Bashir, MSNBC's Live with Thomas Roberts, Current TV's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Air America Radio’s The Sam Seder Show, and XM Radio’s POTUS ‘08.

In July 2009, The Atlantic named Benen one of the top 50 most influential political commentators in the United States.[4] In 2012, Benen wrote the introduction to the e-book, "Elephant in the Room: Washington in the Bush Years".[5]

Benen was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and received his B.A. in Political Science from Florida International University. He received a Master's degree in Political Management from the George Washington University, and was an intern in President Bill Clinton's White House Office of Speechwriting. In 1996, he was the communications director for an unsuccessful Democratic congressional campaign in Pennsylvania. From 1997 to 2002, Benen worked in the communications department at Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

"Digital Pamphleteer," a short film about Benen's work as a blogger, was created by Bill Simmon [6] and won an award at the Vermont International Film Festival.[7] in 2008.

[Lando Lincoln]

I'm bumping this for those who may not have seen it.  I will write a response to my brother sometime this afternoon if I get the chance.

[Lando Lincoln]

Here is how I answered my brother:

Bro,

First, let me say – the author, Steve Benen, is a fairly well-known liberal blogger who in turn posted this article on Rachel Maddow’s site.  Few can deny that she is equally as far left as Sean Hannity is to the right.  But let’s assume no bias.  In that instance, Benen overlooked some serious factors.
 
Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, was Governor of Minnesota for 8 years before Mark Dayton, a Democrat, took over in 2011.
 
Mark Doyle, a Democrat, was Governor of Wisconsin for 8 years before Scott Walker, a Republican, took over in 2011.
 
So where are we now?  Check this out:
 
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/03/24/States-Short-Change-Pension-Funds
Minnesota’s public pension liability is underfunded by $16 billion – up by $4 billion since 2010.
 
Wisconsin’s public pension fund is one of 2 states (New York is the other) that is fully funded.  Wisconsin has the 9th largest public pension fund in the U.S.
 
http://www.twincities.com/ci_22128932/minnesota-faces-1-1-billion-budget-shortfall - Minnesota sees $1.1B deficit for 2014-15
 
http://www.startribune.com/blogs/277231662.html - Star Tribune - New data ranks Minnesota last in Midwest in private sector job creation.  According to the new data, which everyone agrees is more reliable than the monthly numbers, Minnesota ranked 41st in the nation in private sector job growth from March 2013 to March 2014, with a growth rate of 0.8 percent.
 
And then there is this: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323639704579013040148683248 The Die Harder States - Minnesota has increased the incentive to move to Florida.  Minnesota has implemented the most onerous estate taxes in the nation.  You can’t even gift money anymore.  It is all about taxes to some.
 
I wonder if Mr. Benen would like to next analyze the disaster that is Illinois or Michigan.

[GourmetDan]

First, let me say – the author, Steve Benen, is a fairly well-known liberal blogger who in turn posted this article on Rachel Maddow’s site.  Few can deny that she is equally as far left as Sean Hannity is to the right.  But let’s assume no bias.  In that instance, Benen overlooked some serious factors.

Which brings to mind the old saying, "Figures don't lie... but liars can figure..."

[Lando Lincoln]

Thanks alicewonders and jmyrle for your proffered help.