CONTACT: Michael Jahr, Badger Institute Senior Vice President, at 262-442-5208 or at [email protected]

By Angela Rachidi | February 6, 2020

The Badger State has a revered work ethic. After all, it is named for the lead miners of the 1830s who, like their furry namesakes, burrowed into the hillsides to live and work during the harsh Midwestern winters. This virtue explains why Wisconsin led the nation in promoting work as a way out of poverty during the welfare reforms of the 1990s. It also explains why, to this day, it has unusually high workforce participation rates and low unemployment and poverty rates relative to the rest of the nation.

The people of Wisconsin value hard work and, like most Americans, they see employment as a path to a prosperous life. Regrettably, for policies toward low income families, some actions of Governor Tony Evers have undermined this fundamental value. State leaders must refocus policies on employment to reinforce work as the surest pathway out of poverty.

States rightly have a say in how federal programs are administered to their residents. Since work offers economic security for most Americans, states are wise to enact policies that focus on employment. In a recent report for the Badger Institute, however, I have found that Wisconsin is falling short. When it comes to three of the largest cash assistance federal programs for poverty, which are the earned income tax credit, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, Evers has returned to the failed policies of the past.
 
Read the entire op-ed here.