Viewpoint

Amid illiteracy, where was the urgency?

An establishment that for so long failed to apply known science has no place dismissing parents  

By Patrick McIlheran

Several hundred Wisconsinites gathered in Madison this month to revel in a revelation: We’ve known for years how to stop failing so often at teaching children to read.  

So why for the past 25 years have at least 1 in 5 of Wisconsin 8th-graders scored as illiterate in national tests?  

Read the full commentary

Safer Schools

Calls to Police from MPS High Schools Up Dramatically Again

Mayor’s office signals support for putting police back in schools

By Mark Lisheron

A spokesman for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson has told the Badger Institute it is “likely that Milwaukee police officers will have a renewed presence in some Milwaukee Public Schools in 2023.”

Should Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee Police Department follow through, it would be the first time officers have been posted in schools since 2016. The School Board allowed officers to patrol around schools for four years after that but voted unanimously to prohibit that as well in June 2020 after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The disclosure from the mayor’s office follows a fall semester when 34 MPS high schools made 778 calls for police service, 21.2% more than the 642 calls last spring and 16.5% more than the 668 made in the fall of 2021, according to police data obtained by the Badger Institute.

Read the full story

Another reason, Governor, to cut those top tax rates

Mobile Wisconsinites can establish residency in Florida or elsewhere – and minimize their tax bill – more rapidly than many believe

By Mike Nichols

Thanks partly to the fact Minnesota is the one state between the coasts with even higher individual income tax rates than Wisconsin, and the fact that Illinois is a general mess, Wisconsin had a net gain of slightly more than 500 people from other states in 2020.

Exclude those two neighbors and we lose about 10,000 people annually to everywhere else – many of them no doubt in love with our state but disdainful of our exceedingly high taxes. Far and away, most of them go to Florida, then Arizona and Texas. But we also lose lots of people to cooler places, such as Colorado or Washington, with lower or no individual income taxes.

More than one former Wisconsinite has told me over the years that to be considered a resident of another state – and be exempt from paying Wisconsin’s high taxes without completely abandoning your family and friends back home – you have to spend six months and a day there.

Turns out that’s not true.

Read the full story

Choice Stories

One mom’s wish for school choice opportunity

As a single mom, Nancy Nieto needed more than a school. She needed a place where her children would excel and be treated like family.

That’s exactly what she found at St. Thomas More — a Green Bay school that participates in the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program. There, the welcoming environment, quality instruction and personal attention are a tremendous blessing to parents like Nancy.



Nancy’s hope is that more schools in Wisconsin would be a blessing to kids like hers. And many schools would . . . if they received the same amount of funding that public schools receive per student.

Watch the video

Issues Poll

A Wisconsin 2023 Issues Poll recently conducted by the Center for Excellence in Polling found that more than 80% of those surveyed support reforms that would make it easier for workers to secure occupational licenses. 

When respondents were asked if they would support allowing new Wisconsin residents with active licenses in good standing in another state to be granted the same license in Wisconsin (as long as they pay a licensing fee and pass a background check), 82% answered yes, including 80% of Republicans, 88% of Democrats and 80% of Independents.

When asked if they would support allowing individuals to count relevant work experience toward occupational licensing education requirements, 77% of Wisconsinites were in favor, including 74% or Republicans, 82% of Democrats and 76% of Independents.

Free Exchange Podcast

A Legislators’ Look at Licensing

Few people give thought to the impact of occupational licensing – until it affects them directly. But licensing requirements can fence people out of occupations, drive up costs to consumers, limit mobility, create unnecessary bureaucracy and more.

In this episode of Free Exchange, State Sen. Andre Jacque and State Rep. Shae Sortwell, both chairmen of their chamber’s licensing committees, discuss how licensing affects Wisconsinites and policy reforms that can reduce or eliminate some of the resulting burdens.

Listen to the podcast

Introducing:

Wisconsin Coalition for Education Freedom

The Wisconsin Coalition for Education Freedom is launching a multi-media campaign to push back against a one-size-fits-all approach to the state’s education system. Among the tactics is WisconsinEducationFreedom.org, which hosts a variety of resources and engagement opportunities to advance school choice policy goals in Wisconsin.

Watch the video to learn more

Federal Control

An AP analysis of Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal notes that it adds “nearly 817 new full-time positions, of which 368 are paid for with state money.” 

Wait. If these are state positions and included in the state budget, why wouldn’t all 817 be paid for with state money? We’re glad you asked. The Badger Institute did a detailed analysis of federal funds flowing into Wisconsin a few years ago (check it out, it’s really quite revealing) and uncovered a growing trend of federal assimilation of state projects and personnel. At the time, we found that the full-time equivalent of more than 10,000 Wisconsin “state employees” were paid for with federal dollars. This means that more and more state workers answer to Beltway insiders rather than the Wisconsin residents they purportedly serve.

(see pgs. 22-23)

Badger in the News

WISN Talk Radio Host Jay Weber discusses Badger Institute article on increased police calls from MPS schools, chance that resource officers might return. Listen (segment begins around 21:25)

WTMJ talk radio host Steve Scaffidi weighs in on the prospect of cops returning to MPS schools in 2023. Listen (segment begins around 50:50)

The Center Square: Report: Police calls to Milwaukee Public Schools spiked last fall 

Choice and Charter Stats

Source: Wisconsin Coalition for Education Freedom

Download the infographs

At a Glance

Source: Tax Foundation

In 2023, Iowa's top individual income tax rate dropped from 8% to 6%. Then by 2026, the top tax rate will fall to a flat rate of 3.9% for all taxpayers.

Weekly Survey: Do you think school learning environments will improve if resource officers are allowed to return to MPS?

Previous Poll Results

What We’re Reading

• Reason: New Hampshire Just Announced Massive Occupational Licensing Reform

• Foundation for Government Accountability: Medicaid Expansion Is Closing Hospitals

• Opportunity America: UNLOCKING THE FUTURE: Toward a new reform agenda for K–12 education

• National Review: West Virginia Poised to Join Ranks of States Cutting Income Taxes

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