Badger Institute

Video - Dental therapy: A proven remedy to oral care shortages in Wisconsin

1.2 million Wisconsinites live in dental care shortage areas. Children, seniors, veterans & the disabled are most likely to lack access to oral care. Here’s a successful effort to provide dental care to underserved populations without relying on taxpayers.

Watch the video

Employer Handbook

Why hiring the previously incarcerated is good business.

Government's unfair housing foray

Milwaukee Housing Authority competes with private developers.

A Housing Authority subsidary with a social mission

Travaux Inc. has strong ties to Milwaukee city government.

Opportunity Zones stray from original intent

"Rich people shouldn't be the beneficiaries" of federal program, critics say.

Taxpayers Taken for a Ride: The Milwaukee Streetcar

The Hop, a $128 million streetcar that travels a 2.1-mile loop in downtown Milwaukee, is a classic boondoggle made possible by federal grants (i.e., taxpayer money).

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Where dental therapy is longer in the tooth

Minnesota dentists now see, and get, value from dental therapists, who've been practicing there for a decade. When its Legislature authorized dental therapists in 2009, Minnesota became the first state in the nation to license dental therapists. Dentists initially were overwhelmingly opposed but have had a collective change of heart.

Adjusting the occupational licensure mindset

New legislation would spend state resources to create a new occupational license for a profession made up of just eight to 10 people in Wisconsin - and make it harder for others to get into the field. Read more about it here.

Taking a bite out of the dental care access problem

Dental therapists extend care by providing basic dental procedures that previously only a dentist could do. For example, Elizabeth Branca is trained to fill cavities and conduct exams, opening time in a dentist’s schedule for more complex treatments. Dental therapists are paid at a lower rate than a dentist, making time in their chair more affordable. Read more about it here.

Diggings Fall 2019

► Legislators in lockstep: Election reforms gain support
► Government's unfair housing foray
► The perils of state-run retirement plans
► No need for state-run student loan refinancing
► Where dental therapy is longer in the tooth
► Federal programs won't go away
► Wealth tax doomed socialist mayor Emil Seidel
► Wealth tax is counterproductive
► Who's gonna pay for DNC convention in Milwaukee?
► Frontlines: A profile of Margaret Farrow
► Culture Con: Madison school district assumes it knows best
► Editor's Note ► Badger Briefing

Wisconsin should consider using some of its surplus revenue for expensing reform

Wisconsin can improve it's overall tax structure and create a tax code that is more competitive for decades to come. Read more about it here.

Overall tax reform in Wisconsin depends on the sales tax

The state Department of Revenue's guidelines on taxing ice cream cakes illustrate the absurd complexity of state's sales tax system. By visiting fellow Jay Miller.

Expungement law reform

Badger Institute policy analyst Julie Grace testifies on March 19 before the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee in support of Senate Bill 39, which will make necessary reforms to Wisconsin's expungement law.
► Read the transcript of her presentation.
► Watch a video excerpt of her testimony.
► Expungement reform would put people back to work.
► 'Pathways to Employment' news conference.
► Proven successes in reform.

Dental therapists: A solution to Wisconsin's costly dental access problem?

Dental therapists could improve access, use and outcomes, while reducing economic costs associated with the dental care monopoly and unnecessary ER visits for dental treatment. Policy brief by Jason Hicks and Morris M. Kleiner.

► Read the brief. ► Read their op-ed.
► Watch video of Kleiner's presentation at our Policy Symposium.

State's ideal pro-growth tax structure

Wisconsin’s overall tax structure remains behind competitor states in simplicity, tax rates and business climate for residents and investment. How can we reform the tax structure so that the state reaches its full potential? In a video from our Policy Symposium, Joe Bishop-Henchman and Katherine Loughead of the Tax Foundation discuss suggested reforms.
► View their PowerPoint.

Transportation needs and funding

Wisconsin has a transportation funding dilemma. How did it occur, and how can we fix it? In a video from our Policy Symposium, Dale Knapp, director of Forward Analytics, and Robert W. Poole Jr., director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation, discuss growing expenditures, shrinking revenues and tolling solutions.
► View Knapp's PowerPoint. ► View Poole's PowerPoint.

How Wisconsin policy punishes some low-income parents for getting married

Policy brief: The state should make common-sense changes to Wisconsin Earned Income Tax Credit to mitigate the marriage penalty.

'Banning the box,' or boxing people out?

Policy brief: Fair-chance hiring policies may hurt the job-seekers they aim to help.

Transportation Funding Dilemma

A primer on Wisconsin's unsustainable transportation revenues. The state's funding challenge is exacerbated by its past reliance on borrowing. By Dale Knapp, director of Forward Analytics.

A journey of second chances

Imagine a prisoner reentry program where the mentors include an FBI agent and a former federal prosecutor. Or a graduation ceremony where ex-offenders are cheered and hugged not just by family and friends but by police officers, prison officials and judges. Imagine what could happen if the law enforcement community partnered with nonprofits and employers to increase the likelihood of successful reintegration to the community. This video tells the story of Partners in Hope, a new reentry program in Milwaukee that has made this vision a reality.

Project for 21st Century Federalism

The Project for 21st Century Federalism is the Badger Institute's multi-year investigation of the growth in federal grants and their effect on state and local governance. Highlights of the project: