Campaign season is upon us, and that means calls by candidates to cut state spending significantly in order to close the gap in the state budget, currently estimated at $3 billion over the next two years. What these candidates don’t say is that trying to balance the budget through cuts alone will likely drive up property taxes and reduce services that are critical to well-functioning communities.

An issue brief released today by the Wisconsin Budget Project, based on new spending figures put out by the Wisconsin Department of Administration last week, examines two main characteristics of our state budget that make major spending cuts particularly painful.

Check out the newest Wisconsin Budget Project blog post for more information.