The most significant provision of the 2023-2025 budget is a $3.5 billion income tax cut. This proposal benefits the wealthiest taxpayers more than others. Instead of four income brackets, there will be three. Taxpayers making over $1 million would save about $30,286 per year. The Wisconsin NAACP believes progressive tax policies within states reduce the racial wealth gap while regressive tax policies such as tax breaks for the wealthy worsen the gap. The state budget as currently written continues to impact negatively marginalized communities and people of color across Wisconsin and especially those who reside in Milwaukee.
The proposal to cut the UW System budget by $32 million is a return to the practice of segregating Black people under Jim Crow. It is intended to eliminate Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion offices and programs including more than 180 positions throughout the state. The Wisconsin NAACP firmly believes diversity is transformative, a source of strength, and challenges the current cultural system. Efforts to roll back the gains of diversity are demonstrated in the shared revenue bill and disadvantages minorities and must be adjusted to benefit every individual. Key provisions of the measure would allow the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County to raise local sales taxes with two-thirds votes by the city’s common council and the county board. Those revenues would be used to pay down pension debt and preserve police staffing.
However, there are also requirements of, and restrictions on, how the city can allocate the additional revenue generated. Milwaukee will be prohibited from using sales tax revenue to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion. The city’s police and fire commissions will lose oversight authority, and Milwaukee Public Schools will be required to hire police officers. The Wisconsin NAACP applauds the Legislature for providing Milwaukee with taxing authority, but vehemently disagrees with these restrictions and demand that they are removed.
Too many underserved men and women (mostly Black and Brown) in the judicial system are not being represented by council. At times, this leads to extended jail times and court dates which denies them their constitutional right to a speedy trial and is one factor in our state having the highest incarceration rate for Black males in the entire nation.
The Wisconsin NAACP supports funding for the recruitment and retention of public defenders including the hiring of diverse attorneys. The $36.00 starting hourly wage for assistant district attorneys and public defenders is a first step in addressing the issues that result from racial disparities and will move us in the direction of providing justice for all.
Wisconsin ranks first in the nation for Black infant mortality, and Black women in Wisconsin experience a pregnancy-related maternal mortality rate that is five times higher than that of their white counterparts. The Wisconsin NAACP finds this appalling especially when coupled with the cut in funding for childcare services. We support the Department of Health Services grant program for maternal and infant mortality prevention, expansion of fetal and infant mortality review teams, funding a grief and bereavement resource for families who have lost a fetus or infant, and positions to support maternal mortality review.
The Wisconsin NAACP is highly disappointed in 1. the removal of $120 million to provide free meals in Wisconsin schools. This demonstrates the States’s lack of commitment to ensuring that students are not hungry during the school day. 2. The removal of $52 million to support K-12 students with limited English knowledge. This is consistent with the policy and plan required under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. 3. The removal of $24.5 million to cover tuition costs not otherwise covered by scholarships or grants for low-income students in the UW System. The program is designed for students whose household adjusted gross income is $60,000 or less. The UW System estimates 8,000 students would receive assistance through the expanded tuition program in the first four years. In a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Economic Development report from July 2020, the Black poverty rate in Milwaukee is 33.4 percent. This is the highest Black poverty rate among the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, and almost five times the white rate.” The Wisconsin NAACP has a long history of supporting legislative initiatives to make college more affordable. We are deeply puzzled why this initiative was removed and concerned that it contradicts the principle that education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom.
The Wisconsin NAACP encourages the Wisconsin citizenry to let our elected officials know we demand that funding is provided for programs and services that improve lives, keep us safe, promote justice and equality, and advance civil rights. We urge the Governor to review all the provisions of this budget and use the line-item veto per his existing authority.