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MADISON, Wis. – After Gov. Scott Walker announced Thursday that Bonn, Germany, candy-maker Haribo plans to spend $242 million building a plant in Kenosha County in an economic development deal expected to create 400 jobs, the left did what it always does in these situations: It complained.
And criticized.
It is what the left has done best during the Walker era, a time of abundant political power for conservatives and a rapidly evaporating liberal presence in state legislative leadership.
While Walker and economic development officials aren’t yet releasing details on just how much the mammoth manufacturing deal is going to cost taxpayers (and this is something that should be closely watched), the initial word was pretty positive for a state that has grown accustomed to big jobs announcements.
Also announced Thursday, Wisconsin posted a 3.7 percent unemployment rate in February, the lowest level since November 2000. The Badger State economy added 7,600 jobs last month, according to initial estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“More people are working in our state than ever before in history, and more than 200,000 private sector jobs have been created since December of 2010,” Walker said Thursday in his weekly radio address. “Importantly, manufacturing job creation has led the way and our state is in the Top 10 in the nation for manufacturing jobs since we took office,” in 2011.