A panel of three experts — Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Darrell Bazzell, professor Andrew Reschovsky, and former State Budget Director David Schmiedicke — discussed the state budget and how it affects UW-Madison at a campus forum on Tuesday, March 12. Daily Cardinal coverage of the forum is here.
Schmiedicke opened the forum with a brief overview of the budget process. He then discussed Governor Scott Walker’s proposed budget and identified the governor’s spending priorities. Schmiedicke showed how Walker plans to use an increase in revenue to fund a proposed income tax cut, expand school choice, and increase funding for transportation and Veterans Affairs (below).
Schmiedicke’s full PowerPoint presentation is here.
Professor Reschovsky began his presentation with a few remarks about the current economy and how Wisconsin compares to neighboring states (below). He then discussed Governor Walker’s proposed income tax cut and gave three reasons why cutting state income taxes is bad fiscal policy.
Reschovsky’s full PowerPoint presentation is here.
Vice Chancellor Bazzell spent most of his time discussing how UW-Madison will fare under Governor Walker’s proposal. Bazzell said that the budget is generally good and UW-Madison and UW System will benefit from new management flexibilities. He also mentioned some troubling items in the budget. The budget includes no new money for need-based financial aid, and the provision in the budget that allows for the sale of state-owned power plants would also allow for the sale of any university property.