Browsing: Federalism

As stimulus rules supercharge costs, pressure grows to expand the unaccountable program in Wisconsin

Badger Institute Public Affairs Associate David Fladeboe submitted written testimony in favor of 2021 AB 149 before the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Constitution and Ethics on March 10, 2021.

2021 AB 149 would increase the Legislature’s role in approving the expenditure of federal funds related to COVID-19.

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). Meanwhile, the Joseph Project, a Milwaukee transportation enterprise that rejects government funding, is helping central city residents secure good-paying manufacturing jobs in neighboring counties. With a small fleet of church vans (most of them donated), the Joseph Project creates taxpayers instead of fleecing them.

Video shows how The Hop fleeces taxpayers while the Joseph Project creates them.

New Badger Institute book finds federal grants deprive us of our money, liberty and trust.

How federal grants are depriving us of our money, liberty and trust in government – and what we can do about it. This book by the Badger Institute urges states to push back.

It would seem a simple question to ask of any public agency: How much money do you spend and on what?

‘I have to do a lot of paperwork and spend time testing my kids instead of teaching my kids’

Federal requirements in special ed are especially burdensome, educators tell Badger Institute in survey

Early childhood and special education teacher Sheila Noordzy has her hands full teaching a class of 18 3-to-5-year-old children in the Chequamegon School District in Park Falls. She often puts in long hours, partly due to federal paperwork that takes her away from working with the children. Federal requirements in special education are especially burdensome, educators tell the Badger Institute in a survey.

Funding regulations hamper districts and don’t improve education, local officials say in survey

Paperwork takes staff away from daily responsibilities and educating kids, officials say.
By Julie Grace
November 13, 2017

Hordes of Wisconsin government workers are employed to ‘check boxes’ for the feds

Effort to scrap popular Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is a case study in how difficult it is to reduce spending

Private contractors help states grab more U.S. dollars at the expense of serving children and the poor

U.S. education secretary also plans to give them more say over federal school dollars

ESSA could offer opportunities for state to involve districts in decision-making

School officials make decisions they wouldn’t make otherwise to comply with funding requirements.
By Julie Grace and Dan Benson
September 12, 2017

Grants-in-aid represent more than 1,100 federal aid programs, each with its own rules and regulations.

Managing federal education dollars is costing Wisconsin taxpayers millions and benefiting children hardly at all.