54% of Wisconsin Voters against Recall

[Intense]

In New Hampshire, 68% of voters are against repealing the gay marriage law. So who's doing the bullying there?

Constitutional Amendment requires 75% support. Go for it. You want to change certain rules, there is a right way and a wrong way.

 

[Intense]

Will skilled labor save Wisconsin?

The governor thinks so. Walker said he's noticed a trend among small manufacturers — while there are jobs galore available and employers are desperately in search of employees, there are just not enough people to fill these jobs with the right credentials.

"One of the most frustrating things for me, is employers telling me that they have jobs, but they don't have enough skilled workers to fill those jobs, particularly in manufacturing," he said.

Walker said he believes this "disconnect" stems from parents of today's young people remembering manufacturing in a less than friendly light.

"Sometimes I think it’s because their parents who worked in manufacturing remember 15, 20, 25 years ago, that manufacturing meant dirty jobs, meant layoffs when jobs went to China and Mexico and instead, that’s not happening," Walker said. “We need to tell our young people, not just that there are jobs available, but there are good, decent careers in manufacturing.”

Walker proposed bridging this gap by working toward dual enrollment. This would allow high school students to simultaneously take classes that would go toward high school graduation and a technical school degree.

“If we get ahead of the curve, particularly as a state, if we aggressively move more people into those jobs, those careers, it’s not only good in terms of unemployment, it will make us competitive as a region, as a state, with anyone in the world,” he said.

He also proposed extending unemployment benefits for recently hired workers in select cases. If someone was required to have a few weeks of unpaid training on a new job, Walker proposed that their unemployment check would not stop until they are officially on that company's payroll.
Environmentally responsible Wisconsin mining

While Walker said clean air, land and water are paramount to Wisconsin's tourism and agriculture industries, he said there has to be a way to find a balanced approach to sustain the environment and create more jobs, particularly in the mining industry.

He proposed that if Wisconsin expanded into mining, 2,300 people could find work.

"Those are good paying, generational, long-time jobs that can help put our people back to work," he said.

Governor Talks Wisconsin Jobs, Mining and Education at Rotary Appearance - Brookfield, WI Patch

 

[Dr.House]

Well lookie here...

Wisconsin adds jobs in January, dropping their unemployment rate to 6.9%...

State gains 15,700 jobs in January; jobless rate falls to 6.9% - JSOnline

Good news, huh libs?