Corporate lawyers should not author Wisconsin’s jobs agenda
 
Robert Kraig, Executive Director

As it did in January, Governor Walker’s new list of special session “jobs” bills includes several measures masquerading as job creation measures which damage the civil justice rights of consumers who are injured by corporate malfeasance.  Shockingly, one bill in the current session dangerously grants drug companies and medical device manufacturers immunity from injuries and deaths caused by their products.
 
It is the position of Citizen Action of Wisconsin that given the magnitude of Wisconsin’s jobs crisis, any proposal claiming to create jobs must be based on convincing economic evidence that it will create family sustaining jobs, and include real tracking and accountability to assure this crucial objective is actually achieved. Smuggling in completely separate agendas under the banner of job creation is a dangerous distraction at a time when families across Wisconsin are suffering tremendous economic pain, and many are on the brink of financial ruin.
 
The business-dominated Wisconsin Civil Justice Council attempted to provide cover to Governor Walker by claiming that impairing the rights of consumers harmed by corporate wrongdoing will attract companies to Wisconsin.  The source for this claim is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is using its substantial war chest to lead a notoriously misleading national campaign to limit civil justice rights and make large corporations immune from meaningful responsibility for harming average people.
 
The Chamber of Commerce report is based on a survey of corporate attorneys, the very people who are paid to defend large corporations when they cause injuries, and have a direct interest in slanting the legal playing field against consumers. The survey actually finds that Wisconsin, contrary to the claims of special interest supporters of Walker, has an above average litigation climate (ranking 22 best out of 50 states).  In short, even if taken at face value, the report refutes the often repeated Walker Administration claim that Wisconsin has a bad litigation climate, and does not provide any evidence policymakers should take seriously in developing an emergency job creation strategy.  
The people of Wisconsin deserve better than fake jobs bills authored by corporate lawyers. It is nothing short of economic treachery to present corporate pay-backs as jobs bills when so many Wisconsinites need real action to support the middle class and working people.