Browsing: Reports

The good things in life in this democracy — opportunity, fulfillment, upward mobility, prosperity, the redounding energy and succor that comes from free association, love of relatives and friends

As we move through 2022, the national economy is in what might best be described as a strange state.

Some people earn a lot of money. Some earn a little.

Wisconsin’s politicians prohibit over 1 million citizens from working unless they have government permission.

As a way for funding an important public good — highways — Wisconsin’s gas tax was pretty good

Wisconsin, like most states, allows individuals who have been convicted of a one-time, low-level offense to ask a judge to have the record of that conviction expunged once they’ve served their sentence and demonstrated they pose no risk to public safety

Recent and rigorous academic evaluations suggest that such policies aren’t effective at increasing employment among the formerly incarcerated.
August 11, 2022

Even before the pandemic, U.S. entitlement spending was on an unsustainable path, the growth in means-tested safety net programs far outstripping inflation.

A new report from the Tax Foundation and the Badger Institute offers five comprehensive tax reform options to enhance Wisconsin’s tax competitiveness by reducing harmful taxes on labor and investment.

Wisconsin could help lead the nation in empowering patient-consumers to seek care in a functioning market with upfront transparent pricing.

The estimate by the Department of Public Instruction of potential added costs to property tax payers from opening Wisconsin’s school choice programs to families of all income levels is deeply flawed.

A proposal to enhance public credibility

Wisconsin’s unemployment situation has rebounded, but participation in government programs remains elevated.

In a joint brief with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, we lay out the problems with occupational licensing in Wisconsin and what meaningful reforms can be enacted.

The new age of electronic monitoring

A majority of voters believe the state’s criminal justice system needs significant improvements, nearly three-quarters believe expungement law needs reform, among other findings.

Incarceration is rare for pot-only convictions; coupled with municipal policies, Wisconsin has, in effect, decriminalized marijuana.

The Wisconsin Criminal Justice Coalition, led by the Badger Institute, offers policy ideas for combating recidivism, fostering opportunity, saving taxpayer money and maintaining public safety in its second edition of Criminal Justice Reform Recommendations.

Review and recommendations

They’re working and should be made permanent