Wisconsin Budget Project

Did you miss our last post on the Wisconsin state budget? Find that here: https://kidsforward.org/our-take-the-2023-2025-final-state-budget/.

🚨REMINDER: At the end of this month we will be de-activating this page. Don't worry! You can continue to find all of our in-depth budget analysis over at Kids Forward, or sign up for our email list at the bottom of our website: kidsforward.org.

Our Take: The Wisconsin 2023-25 Biennial Budget On July 5, Governor Evers signed the Wisconsin 2023-25 Biennial Budget. How does Wisconsin’s final budget stack up?

Reminder friends: we've MOVED our account over to our parent org, Kids Forward. Be sure to follow us there for all of the same great budget analysis. 👇

2023-25 State Budget: Taxes Taxes are a critical way of providing the resources, infrastructure and services that increase quality of life for all Wisconsinites. They also play an important role in expanding opportunity and enhancing racial equity.

👏🏾👏🏿👏🏼 YES. YES. YES. This is very true in Wisconsin, where our disparities are some of the worst in the country:

"Black women face the greatest income & wealth disparities relative to most other groups....W/deliberate & thoughtful policymaking, we can close the income & wealth gaps that Black women most often experience & advance equitable approaches for everyone."

Centering Black Women in Income and Wealth Policymaking In this brief, we propose a modified approach to targeted universalism by acknowledging that Black women confront challenges on multiple income- and wealth-generating fronts.

Our state budget should be a reflection of what we value as Wisconsinites. On February 15, Governor Tony Evers is going to deliver his budget proposal - here's a helpful video from Wisconsin State Representative Greta Neubauer that shares more on the process. We're here to help you understand how the budget impacts your family and community - be sure to like our posts to stay in your feed!

How Does the Wisconsin State Budget Work? How does the Wisconsin State Budget Process work? Learn how the Governor and the Legislature work together to allocate and decide where our state's money goe...

From birth, Dr. King's dream remains illusory for too many Black people in our state. But, the upcoming state budget is an opportunity to deliver on King's dream in Wisconsin.
As a project of Kids Forward, read the full message from our CEO below or here: https://kidsforward.org/a-message-on-mlk-day/

For decades, Wisconsin has received national attention as a key battleground state.

Regrettably, we also stand out for a more insidious reason. While policies rooted in racism have led to inequitable outcomes for Black people across the country, these disparities are particularly egregious in Wisconsin.

How so? From birth, Dr. King's dream remains illusory for too many Black people in our state.

- Black babies are 3 times more likely to die in their first year of life than white babies.
- Black birthing parents are 5 times more likely to die due to pregnancy-related causes than white birthing parents.
- Second only to that of Native Americans, Black people have a much shorter life expectancy at birth than Asian, Latinx, or white people in our state.
- 14 percent of Black adults hold a Bachelor's Degree, while 30 percent of white adults do.

These stats should be appalling enough on their own. But even worse, the gaps in outcomes listed above between Black and white people are some of the worst in the nation. It didn’t have to be this way.

State decision makers intentionally chose policies and practices for decades that made this gap larger than many neighboring states. The result has been worse outcomes in education, income and more for Black people in contrast to their white neighbors. Discriminatory housing policies and predatory lending practices by rich corporations have denied access to homeownership and generational wealth to Black families.

One of our greatest opportunities to address past wrongs is coming up very soon. In a few weeks, Governor Evers is going to release his proposed state budget.

The state’s strong fiscal condition means that policymakers have the opportunity to make a down payment on a better future for all children and families. The implications are huge.

The state budget impacts every facet of daily life - childcare, healthcare, schools, roads and highways, jobs, and so much more.
We look forward to working with state lawmakers to pass a budget that breaks down barriers for children and families of color and those furthest from opportunity.

Over the coming months, we will share more specifics at KidsForward.org & wisconsinbudgetproject.org, but here are a few high-level ways Wisconsin can achieve this:

- Increase and expand state tax credits for working parents with low wages. The expanded child tax credits issued in 2020-2021 were lifesavers.
- Expand BadgerCare and eliminate unnecessary barriers to health care and other public assistance programs. Overwhelming evidence shows that assistance programs work.
- Ensure that public schools have the resources to safely educate children and address racial- and poverty-driven gaps. As we’ve all seen in the pandemic, schools have become a critically underfunded hub for children and families.
- Extend postpartum coverage under BadgerCare from 90 days to one year, and help support continuity of care for both moms and babies.
- Raise and enforce the minimum wage.
- Ensure wealthy corporations and the richest 1% pay what they owe. Refuse to implement tax cuts for Wisconsin's most wealthy.

Wisconsin will likely be recognized nationally as a battleground state for decades. We may not always agree across the aisle, but ensuring all Wisconsinites have the opportunity to live safe, healthy, and happy lives is something that everyone can agree on. We cannot thrive as a state unless we all have the opportunity to thrive.

On MLK Day: Wisconsin's Persisting Racial Disparities For decades, Wisconsin has received national attention as both a harbinger of public opinion and a key battleground state. Regrettably, Wisconsin also stands out nationally for a more insidious reason.