Browsing: Reports

Investment in young children supports economic development by boosting the long-run productivity of the labor force and reducing public costs.

Wisconsin’s teacher compensation system is outdated, out-of-touch, and not designed to attract and retain top talent.

Based on a 30-year program of reconstruction and assuming moderate toll rates comparable to those on other toll road systems, the study estimates that the entire rural Interstate program could be financed by toll revenue bonds.

MPS has a fundamental lack of focus. Instilling accountability will require a structural and cultural transformation similar to the one the Milwaukee Police Department has undergone — one that revolves around measurable objectives.

As critical as competition is in our lives and in the unprecedented success of our country, few of us understand the first thing about it. We don’t know its origins, why it pushes us forward, why some people are more competitive than others or why artificial constraints on competition will stifle an entire population.

The result of antiquated management practices has often been failure of state government to control costs and operate efficiently, according to the study.

In the academic programs of Wisconsin’s public schools, economics and personal finance have a weak presence. Despite the obvious importance of the subject matter, relatively few students take courses in economics or personal finance, relatively few teachers are qualified to teach such courses, and educators generally do not see the situation as problematic.

Study assesses the condition and 10-year needs of Wisconsin’s State Highway System. It estimates the costs of addressing deficiencies, adding new or expanded facilities, bringing the system up to prudent standards, maintenance and administration.

It has been 10 years since Wisconsin overhauled an old set of rules for state teacher licensure (PI 3 and PI 4) and replaced it with a new set called PI 34. This report assesses PI 34 in an effort to learn whether it has made good on its high expectations.

Wisconsin has much to gain by enacting a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds majority to raise taxes and fees. Its citizens would be further insulated from a government all too willing to fix deficits with rate increases, and its legislators would need to learn to balance budgets through more sustainable measures.

Encouraging dialogue between universities and their constituents in business, industry, agriculture and general citizenry can focus the educational process on needs.

A Special Report: We sent historian John Gurda across the state to size up where Wisconsin is today, what it is thinking and what it wants.

The recent fiscal challenges facing Wisconsin state and local governments have caused a serious re-evaluation of all aspects of government spending. Yet little attention has been given to the cost of providing pensions to public employees.

The problem is far too severe to be solved by increasing taxes on the wealthy or by cutting the bureaucracy. In other words, nothing that resembles business-as-usual will close Wisconsin’s looming budget hole.

The unfunded liability for these health care costs stands at $2.6 billion, more than double the district’s entire annual operating budget. These costs will ultimately be borne by Milwaukee taxpayers, and, because of the state school funding formula, taxpayers statewide.

Not only would Wisconsin’s households and firms bear the high burden of the costs of the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming proposals, but these costs will be borne in the near term.

Trends paint the picture of modern legislators who work less, grow older in office and are less likely to lose their seat in a general election. In effect, for a large number of legislators, their legislative job has become their career.

Wisconsin’s criminal justice system is marked by a pronounced cycle of crime followed by incarceration followed by parole followed by repeated crime.

New testing approaches not only could serve as a basis for changing state-required tests, but they could also pave the way to improvements in how Wisconsin’s teachers are compensated. These changes would have important implications for the teaching profession.

The state should move toward a testing program with computer-based scoring so that results could be obtained and used promptly.