Browsing: Reports

In state capitols across the country governors and legislatures have been forced to put all of their energy into solving enormous fiscal shortfalls. Given their dependence on income tax and sales tax revenues, the 2001 recession hit state governments particularly hard. In 2003, no fewer than 39 states, including Wisconsin, experienced budget gaps. During the

The case for competitive bidding

A flawed idea for schools and for taxpayers

A survey of Wisconsin public opinion

In 2002, state and local government spending in Wisconsin was 7.7% above the national average while our income level was 2.8% below the national average

A survey of Wisconsin public opinion

Wisconsin’s regional economies, 1999-2003

A critical examination

A survey of public opinion

Why building a “new” Milwaukee economy matters to Wisconsin

The Objectives of the Research The objectives of this wave of WPRI’s ongoing research program continue to be measurement of residents’ attitudes on emerging and topical issues and to track change in attitudes on selected topics over time. As was found in earlier surveys, attitudes on some issues have changed very little since the last wave. On

When then Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson introduced the Wisconsin Works (W-2) proposal in November of 1994, he cited this principle…

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Sewerage District’s Impact on Lake Michigan Since 1977, taxpayers in the Milwaukee metropolitan area have paid nearly $3 billion for a state-of-the-art sewerage system. Its centerpiece is the Water Pollution Abatement Program (WPAP), completed in 1996. The WPAP, the largest public works project ever undertaken in Wisconsin, increases the capacity of metropolitan-area

Early in the postwar era, Wisconsin was not among the nation’s highest-taxed states, as measured by state and local taxes.1 Relative to personal income, Wisconsin’s tax burden flirted with the “top ten” during those years, but did not reach it. That changed in 1963 when the full effect of sales and income tax increases enacted

In the twenty-first century it is an alarming trend that a large percent of Wisconsin students have an almost remedial-level knowledge of American economic and financial institutions

Wisconsin state government is facing the most significant financial challenge in its history. The state budget is out of balance by $3.2 billion. The irony here is that the crisis comes close on the heels of the 1990s, when state government seemed able to do anything. That was the era of elevated spending, new programs,

The 1990s were growth years for the United States and for Wisconsin. The Wisconsin economy added 461,748 jobs, growing by a remarkable 21 percent over the 1991-1999 period, far surpassing the U.S. growth rate of 13 percent. Unfortunately for some, growth was not uniform across all areas of the state. Employment in Brown County (Green

Over the next several years, there may be no more important issue in Wisconsin than the rebuilding of the Marquette Interchange

The answer for Milwaukee governance