Gov. Scott Walker is promising that Wisconsin's government will focus on helping find a job for everyone who wants to work, according to excerpts from his State of the State address that his office released Tuesday.
The governor planned to tout the state's falling unemployment rate -- according to preliminary state data, it was 4.2 percent in November, down a full percentage point from the same time in 2014 -- and planned to add that his administration believes in helping people get training for rewarding careers.
"Our focus in state government is simple: Everyone who wants a job can find a job," the governor said in the excerpts. "Helping people identify a meaningful career is worth far more than a paycheck. It's really about helping achieve true independence."
He said his administration has a plan over the next year to ensure that everyone who wants to work can find a job. The administration will enact the plan by helping people improve the economy and by investing in K-12 education, college education and worker training, he said. Walker called for putting savings from overhauling state government into public education.
The excerpts Walker's office provided did not offer any other details about the plan or exactly how the administration would implement it.
Walker's office released the excerpts hours before the governor was scheduled to deliver the speech to a joint session of the Legislature. The address isn't expected to have quite the same buzz as last year, when Walker was gearing up for a run for the GOP presidential nomination.
Walker dropped out of the race in September. By November, a Marquette University Law School poll showed his approval rating at about 38 percent.
Last week he announced a series of proposals aimed at making college more affordable, with plans to remove the cap on tax-deductible student loan interest, increase need-based assistance programs at technical colleges and create more internship coordinators across the state.
NBC26’s Billy Wagness is in Madison and will bring you the latest from the State of the State.
