At a briefing in Milwaukee this afternoon, Community Advocates Public Policy Institute presented a policy agenda for reducing poverty in Wisconsin by more than 50 percent.  A rigorous analysis of the proposals by the Urban Institute concludes that the proposed package of policies could reduce the state’s poverty rate “by 58 to 66 percent, depending on assumptions.”  The agenda includes four components: an increase in the minimum wage to $8, a Senior and Disability Income Tax Credit, creation of a new transitional jobs program, and expansion of income tax credits related to earnings. The Urban Institute analysis concludes that, “combining the new policies with full participation in existing entitlement programs reduces Wisconsin poverty by 81 percent.”

The analysis of the proposals uses a “supplemental poverty measure,” rather than the traditional federal definition. That’s necessary because the current federal definition of income used for purposes of measuring poverty doesn’t include certain federal and state benefits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).  As a result, it doesn’t capture the positive effects of policy changes like increasing the EITC.

You can read the Urban Institute report here.

 Jon Peacock