Badger Institute

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).

Watch the video

Badger Institute annual dinner
featuring Karl Rove

Karl Rove, an iconic political strategist and one of the most sought after political pundits of our time, is speaking at the Badger Institute's annual dinner on Tuesday, October 22, at the Wisconsin Club in Milwaukee.

Labor shortage stems from minority education gap

Lack of minority high school and college grads and wide prosperity gaps will only exacerbate the region's growing employee shortage, Milwaukee business leaders fear. By Ken Wysocky

Licensure reforms fuel entrepreneurs across Wisconsin

Fewer barriers mean barbers and stylists are now free to own and grow their businesses beyond shops and salons. By Marilyn Krause.

Ex-offenders under watch

Revocation study looks at Wisconsin's complex community corrections system and why many on supervision are failing. By Cecelia Klingele.

Data analysis provides quantitative look at supervision terms. By Julie Grace and Patrick Hughes.

Minimum Wage: The High Cost
of Increasing Minimum Wage
in Wisconsin to $15

Policy brief: Roughly 350,000 Wisconsin workers would be at risk of losing their jobs as a result of increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Analysis by visiting fellows Ike Brannon and Andrew Hanson.

Why are Wisconsin's highways in the bottom third nationwide?

Poor pavement condition and high spending mean the state isn't getting top value from its highway dollars. Read more about it here.

Proposed rule change would increase SNAP integrity

The 2018 Farm Bill failed to address a key loophole in the country's main food assistance program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) - a loophole that states have increasingly used over the past decade to expand SNAP income eligibility beyond the intent of the law. Read more about it here.

Dental Therapy testimony from Julie Grace

To us at the Badger Institute, this dental therapy bill represents a common-sense, free-market and bipartisan solution to a serious and persistent problem. Read the full testimony here.

Diggings Spring 2019

► Victor Berger: Virulent bigot
► The resurrection of socialism
► The Hop’s influence is a flop
► Protecting history or promoting agendas?
► Is it high time to legalize marijuana in Wisconsin? Read arguments for and against legalization.
► Guest Opinion: Courage as a modern virtue
► Frontlines: Mike Mooney, on his own terms
► Culture Con: The changing landscape of retail
► Editor's Note ► Badger Briefing

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.

Tax Foundation analyzes tax proposals in Evers budget

The Tax Foundation, which partnered with the Badger Institute to publish the recently released Wisconsin Tax Options: A Guide to Fair, Simple, Pro-Growth Reform, posted an assessment of the various tax proposals contained in Gov. Tony Evers' budget. The analysis examines changes to the individual income tax, business taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes and transportation taxes. Read the assessment here.

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: