Updates on Racial Equity Analyses in Wisconsin Shares and YoungStar
Download the the full report in PDF Introduction This report adds 2020 data from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF), which validates key findings from the previous Baseline Report, and provides a snapshot of a part of Wisconsin’s early care and education (ECE) systems during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic....
At the Start of the New Year, Minimum Wages Went up in 21 States. Wisconsin Wasn’t One of Them.
Low-paid workers across the country are getting raises because 21 states and 35 cities and counties increased their minimum wages around the beginning of the year. Those raises will lift workers out of poverty, help struggling families make ends meet, and make it easier for workers to achieve financial security. A minimum wage increase...
Wisconsin Legislators Fail to Invest Any New State Funds in Early Education
The governor’s budget included a number of significant changes in early education policy and financing that would have improved the well-being of our young children, reduced racial disparities, helped parents participate in the workforce, and boosted Wisconsin’s long-term prosperity. Unfortunately, aside from adding federal money to the...
Tax Changes in Budget Bill Thwart Efforts to Advance Equity
For Wisconsin’s economy to thrive, the state needs to invest in the building blocks of shared prosperity, including high-quality early education and schools, affordable higher education, healthy workers, and strong communities. The Governor’s budget proposed making significant investments in those areas, including investments that would...
TANF at 25: Failing to Meet the Needs of WI Families
On August 22 of this year, the law creating the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program (TANF) turns 25 years old, and that’s not a cause for celebration. At the national level and here in Wisconsin, TANF is serving only a small fraction of the families who are living in poverty and are eligible for assistance. The TANF law...
Wisconsin Lawmakers Directed Far More Resources to an Income Tax Cut than Other Critical Priorities
The huge tax cut that Wisconsin lawmakers passed in the state budget far outstrips the minimal investments they made in critical priorities like education, health, and workforce development. The size of the tax cut will make it harder for schools, communities, and families with low incomes to get the resources they need to thrive....
Wisconsin Legislators Fail To Approve Budget Measures That Would Help Immigrants Thrive
The Wisconsin Legislature passed a state budget that stripped out several provisions introduced by Governor Evers that would expand opportunity for immigrant families and communities. The Governor signed the budget passed by the legislature, and it is now law. Driver Licenses for All The Legislature removed a proposed change that would...
Opportunity Wasted: Legislature Removes Nearly All Items Promoting Racial Equity from the State Budget
Introduction The events of the past year have made the deep, longstanding racial disparities in our nation much more obvious. The COVID-19 pandemic and the current recession have not only shined a light on those disparities, but have also made them much worse. On many different indicators, Wisconsin is at or very near the top in terms...
Wisconsin’s Legislators Fail to Invest in Higher Education
Wisconsin’s Legislators Fail to Invest in Higher Education During a time of unprecedented revenue growth, the Legislature approved a higher education budget that does not include any significant new resources, and does not take steps to undo the steep budget cuts of past years or expand access to higher education. The legislature...
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