Frederica Freyberg:

Now to the state Capitol, where Republicans unveiled economic plans this week, proposals that would end Wisconsin’s participation in several federal recovery programs related to unemployment compensation. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says the relief money to workers prevents small business owners from filling open positions.

Robin Vos:

The thing that is worrying many of us and that we have to change that’s impeding the recovery is the supply chain from beginning to end. So if you’re a manufacturer, you are concerned about being able to get your products in and be able to ship them out to market. That’s because trucking companies have a huge concern with the number of folks who are applying and filling positions. We see every single manufacturer that I spoke with — and I spoke to large and small, and they all say the same thing, that they are seeing a smaller number of applicants, they are seeing the folks who do apply not necessarily show up for interviews. They are seeing folks who do not necessarily have the same work ethic applying for some of the positions. So I think we need to do something different.