Tiffany says he will seek waiver to end program in seven Wisconsin counties |
Spurred in part by the Environmental Protection Agency’s historic elimination of its greenhouse gas standards, momentum is growing to end vehicle emissions testing programs in several states, including Wisconsin. The agency under current Administrator Lee Zeldin has shown a willingness to work with states to get rid of the costly programs that, as the Badger Institute has reported, have not proven they improve air quality. |
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Earlier this week, U.S. Rep.Tom Tiffany, a Republican candidate for governor, said that if elected he will seek a necessary waiver from the EPA to end a program that has cost taxpayers more than $275 million and annually affects the owners of more than 640,000 vehicles in the seven biggest counties in southeastern Wisconsin. |
| There is ample cause to question the value of vehicle emissions testing. In a comprehensive investigation in October 2023, the Badger Institute found scant evidence that the program had ever improved air quality in the southeastern part of the state. |
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“After 40 years without clear evidence of meaningful impact, it’s time to reconsider this program,” Tiffany said Monday in Greendale. “This program remains time-consuming, frustrating, and often places costly repair burdens on those least able to afford them.” |
Tom Howatt, who rose up as the son of a Scottish immigrant to become President and CEO of Wausau Paper, a preeminent leader of Wisconsin’s business community and an exceedingly generous philanthropist, has died at the age of 76 after a two-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). |
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Howatt, who was also a long-time chairman of the Badger Institute, didn’t like the word “poor.” But “we never hesitated to talk about the fact we didn’t have money,” said his brother and best friend, Terry. The boys were mowing lawns in third grade, had paper routes by the time they were in sixth. “It was what we were supposed to do,” said Terry, “the ethic we got from our parents. You support yourself. You help others.” |
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Wisconsin’s ranks higher in labor market freedom than it has been at almost any point since the 1980s, according to the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of North America Index.
Labor market freedom is defined as the extent to which workers and employers are allowed to interact and determine terms of employment without interference from excessive regulations. It is an important component of overall economic freedom and is measurable through an analysis of minimum wage laws, the share of the workforce employed by the government, and union density.
In the first chapter of the Badger Institute’s 2026 Mandate for Madison, James Bohn demonstrates that the relative position of these three states in labor market freedom has been part of a bigger shift that has seen Wisconsin surpass its neighbors in overall economic freedom. |
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In 2011, Wisconsin began a new policy experiment in economic freedom. In little more than a decade, Wisconsin moved from one of the most interventionist states to one ranked in the second quintile in terms of economic freedom. Evidence from border counties with Illinois and Minnesota supports the view that this experiment in economic freedom has promoted growth and prosperity for Wisconsinites. |
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Evers vetoes state participation in charitable giving program |
The federal “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” authorized a new tax credit (up to $1,700) for private contributions to scholarship granting organizations. The credit incentivizes contributions to schools for resources that help poor and middle class students succeed.
The Wisconsin legislature passed a measure directing Gov. Evers to opt Wisconsin schools into the program, but it was vetoed Monday. What was the governor’s reason? Speculative fear that private school students would benefit to a greater degree than public school students.
Said another way: Prioritizing politics over resourcing students. |
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Gov. Evers spent his career in education and boasts of it. He likes being photographed in schools. He branded 2025 the “year of the kid.”
Yet asked the other day about whether he’d wave his hand to let Wisconsin taxpayers use a new federal tax credit for education-related donations, the governor slammed the door. He told a reporter it would be “catastrophic” for public schools, even though the new program allows donations to go to public school students for, say, tutoring, technology, books or other extra help. |
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Weekly survey: According to the most recently available data, what percentage of automobiles subject to emissions testing in Wisconsin fail the inspection?
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Previous survey question: |
According to U.S. Energy Information Administration data, Midwest gasoline reached its highest price since 1992 in June 2008 at $3.99 per gallon — $5.79 per gallon in today’s dollars.
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