Wisconsin's Budget By-The-Numbers

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The MacIver Institute · MacIver News Minute: Wisconsin's Budget By-The-Numbers

The new state budget is in effect.

A lot of people on both sides of the aisle claim it’s a conservative budget, but the numbers tell a different story.

The last budget was $100 billion. Evers wanted 120 billion this time. It wound up at $114 billion.

That’s a 15% jump in spending. The biggest increase in at least 20 years.

$111.1 billion was an estimate of total spending for the state budget. With borrowing, it's actually $114.2 billion. That's a 15% spending increase from the last budget.
Here is the updated chart: pic.twitter.com/v7UK9Jc6RO
— MacIver Institute (@MacIverWisc) July 2, 2025

We started this budget with a $4.4 billion surplus. We’ll end it with just $700 million.

And yet, this budget still borrows $3.2 billion. That’s four-and-a-half times more than in the last budget, and the highest level of borrowing since Jim Doyle was governor.

JFC approved $3.2 billion in borrowing for the new state budget. That's the highest level of bonding in over a decade, and despite starting the fiscal year with a $4.2 budget surplus. pic.twitter.com/DRHQgFYfCB
— MacIver Institute (@MacIverWisc) July 2, 2025

Sure, you’re getting a $1.5 billion tax cut, but your healthcare costs are going up $2 billion, your property taxes are going up 3-quarters of a billion dollars, drivers fees are going up $150 million, and even camping fees are going up 6 million bucks.

If all that adds up to a conservative budget, I shudder to think what a liberal budget would look like.