What you want from Wisconsin in 2025
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What will it take to make Wisconsin among the best places in America to live, work and do business? The Badger Institute has pulled together some of the best minds in the state and the country to offer answers. The Mandate for Madison is a book full of ideas and solutions about public policy centered on how to improve Wisconsin, offering research and recommendations from a remarkable set of scholars who bring extraordinary insight into Wisconsin’s situation. These options offer a fast start to correct the problems holding back our state.
Badger Institute’s latest:
Assembly clears bill to tackle fears of data center spiking power rates
The state Assembly this week passed a bill barring data centers from passing on any utility costs to other ratepayers in Wisconsin — targeting a key objection from Wisconsinites who oppose data center development.
Assembly Bill 840, passed 53-44 almost entirely along party lines, also requires new data centers to use water-conserving technology for cooling and to report annual water use to the Department of Natural Resources.
Governor Evers’ property tax relief plan fails to constrain property tax growth
Policymakers are scrambling for solutions as Wisconsin property tax burdens continue to rise. As homeowners clamor for relief, Gov. Tony Evers (D) has proposed using $1.3 billion from the state’s surplus to buy down property tax bills. Unfortunately, the proposal does nothing to address the structural drivers of high (and rising) property taxes and, if anything, puts more pressure on them in the future. His proposal commits the state to subsidies that shift burdens rather than alleviate them.
The Wisconsin Higher-Ed Reform Model
Republican lawmakers managed to pass a conservative-coded policy in a purple state with a Democratic governor. It’s all well and good to point to Florida or Texas and wish that every state could do likewise. Unfortunately, not every state capitol boasts a conservative governor ready to pick controversial fights backed up by a large Republican majority. Wisconsin demonstrates that even purple states can win meaningful, albeit limited, conservative victories.
