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Get the latest news and research from Badger Institute
- Wisconsin’s southern border shows what freedom brings
- When students harm themselves economically by going to college
- Bill to increase Wisconsin housing supply is now law
- Forty-year-old vehicle emissions program under new scrutiny
- In memory of Tom Howatt, embodiment of American Dream
- The Wisconsin experiment in economic freedom
- An agenda for opportunity and prosperity in Wisconsin
- From mudslinging to Mandate
Browsing: Reports
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.
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
A trilogy of reports looking at police use of force, police discipline, and violent crime
Parents with disabilities or health limitations often time out of the program or end up on disability insurance
Disciplinary actions against police officers in Wisconsin’s largest cities, whether for use of force or anything else, are rare
A call for greater transparency
What we know thus far
Policies linked to work are critical to lifting people out of poverty
What is occupational licensing, how does it affect employment and consumer costs, and what options exist for reform?

