The health care reform law is expected to create 326,000 more insured Wisconsinites. This will be a great accomplishment; however, it’s also important to think about whether the health care system will be ready to care for the increased number of patients seeking primary and preventative care because of the law. Fortunately, the...
Tax and Budget
The state budget and the taxes that help finance it have a huge impact on children and families. The budget provides most of the funding for vital government services, such as education, health care, transportation, child welfare and other safety net programs.
For more detailed analysis, visit the Wisconsin Budget Project website.
The Case against Using Mortgage Settlement Funds to Reduce the State Deficit
Journal Sentinel and NY Times Editorials Argue against Diverting the Settlement FundingBoth the New York Times and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorialized over the weekend against the use of the new mortgage settlement dollars to help close state deficits. As the Journal Sentinel wrote: “With so many families in Milwaukee - and...
The Budget Bill’s Hidden Tax Hike for Struggling Wisconsinites
Low-wage Workers and Seniors Will Pay Millions More in Property Tax The 2012 poverty level was announced late last week, and the new income level for a family right at the federal poverty level (FPL) is now about 3 percent higher than it was in 2011, which reflects an increase in the cost of living. The change in the poverty level...
Proposed Bill Would Deny Child Tax Credit to Immigrant Families and Children
As tax time is approaching, and the next round of negotiations regarding the payroll tax cuts are gearing up, a bill to deny the Child Tax Credit for those filing with an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) is also moving in Congress. The bill, titled Refundable Child Tax Credit Eligibility Verification Reform Act, would...
DHS Contends Wisconsin Has a Deficit (Despite Governor’s Statements to the Contrary)
Certification of a Deficit Would Allow State to End or Modify BadgerCare Eligibility for 53,000 AdultsGovernor Walker and many Republican legislators have said repeatedly that the biennial budget bill brought the state budget into balance. I agree with that assessment. However, the Department of Health Services (DHS) sent a letter to...
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