By M.D. Kittle – A graduated revenue shift could raise a half billion dollars annually — and nearly $5 billion total over 15 years — for Wisconsin transportation projects, according to a memo from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Read More Sanfelippo Plan Could Be Big Boost To Transportation Budget – But At Cost To Big Government
Highly paid UW System officials won’t stop talking about how destitute their universities are. But national rankings on public higher ed funding paint a different picture. Wisconsin consistently ranks in the top 15 of per capita higher education funding – 13th in the latest StatsAmerica ranking of higher ed state and local expenditures, among other stats. The UW System will tell you otherwise, but the sky is not falling on public higher ed in Wisconsin. Read More MacIver News Minute: Despite Facts, UW Comrades Won’t Stop Pleading Poverty
By M.D. Kittle – For all the System’s gnashing of teeth about funding cuts and “falling behind,” Wisconsin’s higher education system still fares pretty well in spending comparisons. Read More Funding Rankings Show Sky Not Falling For UW System
Wisconsin’s road funding debate is paved with plenty of half-truths. A big one is that local officials have no money to do necessary upkeep, or that it’s the state’s fault that town, municipal, and county roads are full of potholes. Not true – a new MacIver Institute analysis found that in too many cases, local officials simply aren’t making basic road repairs a top priority at budget time. And remember: most local roads are entirely a local responsibility. It’s a convenient way to try wringing more money out of state government, but a disservice to local motorists. Read More MacIver News Minute: Local Officials Shirk Road Repair Responsibilities
MacIver News Director Bill Osmulski joins Vicki McKenna on News/Talk 1310 WIBA to discuss his investigation into how local governments are prioritizing their own local road repairs. It appears many of them aren’t. Instead of making road upkeep a budget priority, a basic responsibility of local government, many are simply pointing the finger of blame at Madison in the hopes of securing more state aid. Read More On Vicki McKenna: Local Roads Clearly Not A Local Priority