Making (sh)It Up: MN GOP endorsed Candidate for Governor of Minnesota, Jeff Johnson

The boy carved out of wood, Pinocchio;
when he lies, his nose grows
but business doesn’t

On the Sunday Morning June 1st edition of WCCO Sunday Morning, in an interview with Esme Murphy, Jeff Johnson, MN GOP endorsed candidate for Governor of Minnesota made the statement that Minnesota came in last - in 51st place, behind the District of Columbia in economic growth. He then qualified that, when challenged by Murphy, to last in small business creation.
I cannot find ANY source which factually supports such a
statement, and Johnson did not give one in the interview.

We are NOT last in any form of business creation, including small business. Jeff Johnson appears to have told a lie to advance his candidacy for governor, one that is easily checked.

Is Jeff Johnson, MN GOP endorsed candidate for governor,
the model for the figure of a lying Pinocchio?

I have long contended that conservatives believe things which are not true, which are factually false, and asserted that this is particularly true in the area of economics. Republican economics do not work. Republican math does not reflect accurate or functional numerical values.

What I DID find in the course of my fact checking was a surprising figure for where Minnesota stands, in comparison to other states, from a very right wing source,one funded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a far right source, and their subsidiary organization, Free Enterprise.com., which measures some 30 different economic factors.

In business creation performance, Minnesota ranked 15th; in both the areas of infrastructure and what they term the 'talent pipeline' which compares the levels of education of our workforce - a key business component, Minnesota ranked 6th.

Minnesota is ranked 6th in this year's report for its solid talent pipeline and workforce education system. The Land of 10,000 Lakes has the 2nd most educated young workforce, and its higher education system is the 4th most productive in degrees per 18- to 24-year-old.

And here is what the site said about our infrastructure - another component essential to business, including small business start ups:

While it may be known for the tragic Interstate 35 bridge collapse in 2007, Minnesota has the lowest share of structurally deficient or functionally obsolete bridges. The Governor's Task Force on Broadband recently released a set of policy recommendations to improve deployment across the state, including targeted tax credits, expanded public access, more coordination efforts, and allowing broadband conduit to be installed in concert with highway projects.

Minnesota's Transportation Economic Development Program offers grants to communities, covering up to 70% of the cost of transportation infrastructure installation or improvements for business expansion in targeted industries, including manufacturing and biosciences. Governor Mark Dayton has proposed continued funding for the program, citing its ability to leverage private investment, increase the tax base, and create new jobs.

Looks to me like Governor Dayton is doing things right - but not right wing - to keep Minnesota performing well in job creation and business start ups, of all sizes. But for comparison, let's take a look at the same rankings for Wisconsin, since our MN GOP has no new ideas for keeping Minnesota competitive, and because the MN GOP wishes to emulate many of the policies of our next door neighbor, Wisconsin, under Republican Governor Scott Walker, and his Republican controlled legislature.

In overall performance, which includes these metrics / areas of measurement, Wisconsin ranked 44th out of 50:

Ten-year job growth (3 points)
Two-year job growth (3 points)
Overall expansion of gross state product (1 point)
Productivity: state output per job (1 point)
Productivity growth: growth in output per job (1 point)
Income growth: growth in per capita personal income (3 points)
Livability: median income of four-person household adjusted for state cost of living (2 points)

And Wisconsin ranked 41st in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (lower than MN), and well behind Minnesota in 6th place, in 'Talent Pipeline' and 'Infrastructure'.

Republicans have no new ideas; their ideas for Minnesota are the same old stale and failed ones that they push in every state, a one size fits all recipe for economic stagnation and decline, for becoming economically not competitive. But because the facts are not their friends, the only alternative they have is to lie. Liars are losers; for the sake of Minnesota, we must hope that Jeff Johnson loses the race for the office of Governor.

Governor Dayton and his Democrativ majority legislature seem to be doing a great job, and we should let them continue to do so. Send the liars home. The last time they were in power, they caused the state credit rating to be downgraded, and they bankrupted their own party, putting it in over $1 million in debt, while lying to us about how they were the party of fiscal responsibility. We can't afford more of the MN GOP's lies.