MI News Minute Podcasts
September 02, 2026 | By Annette Olson
Policy Issues
State Budget

Sound Budgeting

MacIver Institute CEO Annette Olson gives a quick lesson about what the state surplus actually means for you and yours.
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Wisconsin just learned that tax collections came in higher than expected last fiscal year—about $450 million above earlier estimates. That could push the state’s projected surplus toward $3 billion.

That sounds like good news -- but it is not a license to spend.

At MacIver, we have warned for months that a projected surplus does not erase Wisconsin’s long-term budget problem. The state still spends more than it takes in on an ongoing basis. One-time extra revenue can paper over that gap for a while. It does not fix it.

We’ve seen this movie before. Strong collections hide a structural shortfall. Then lawmakers treat a surplus as permanent money—new recurring spending, new commitments, and a weaker starting point for the next budget. That is how a surplus becomes a crisis.

Sound budgeting means living within our means, protecting taxpayers, and refusing to lock in spending the state cannot sustain. A larger surplus is a chance to get this right—not a reason to get it wrong.

related topics
Budget Budget Surplus

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Annette Olson

Annette Olson

CEO, A grassroots activist who builds coalitions around sound policy that helps Wisconsinites prosper.

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