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White residents of the Milwaukee metropolitan area have significant more access to mortgage lending than black and Hispanic residents, according to a 2016 report that highlights how lending patterns affect different communities. Whites represent 70% of the population in the Milwaukee area, according to the report from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, yet received 81% of the mortgage loans made in 2014. African Americans are 16% of the population but received only 4% of the loans. Hispanics represent nine percent of the area’s population, and received four percent of the total loans. The Milwaukee metropolitan area includes Milwaukee County...

Wisconsin’s overuse of jails and prisons has resulted in outsized costs for state residents. By emphasizing high-cost incarceration that has produced questionable results over less expensive alternatives, lawmakers require taxpayers and communities to pick up the bill for the state’s short-sighted priorities. Part of the cost for Wisconsin’s corrections policies come out of the pockets of taxpayers. Wisconsin state and local governments spend about $1.5 billion on corrections each year, significantly more than the national average given the size of our state. The high cost of Wisconsin’s correction policies have made it more difficult for the state to make...

As the new school year approaches, Wisconsin schools face significant challenges, including class sizes that have grown faster than the national average, an increasing number of students living in poverty, and a reduction in state support for education. Schools have long been an engine of our state’s economic growth. Wisconsin has depended on a well-educated workforce, shaped by excellent public schools, to lay the foundation for our prosperity. To ensure that Wisconsin is competitive in the future, our schools must have the resources to offer students a high-quality education. Only then can we create a future workforce that is...

A 2014 national report found that the city of Milwaukee had the 6th largest increase in income inequality among the 50 largest U.S. cities. That finding is particularly troublesome when considered in the context of the substantial increase in income inequality across the nation. The study by the Brookings Institute examined the change in income inequality in major cities from 2007 to 2012. Their analysis found that Milwaukeeans at the 95th percentile of the income scale had a $237 increase in income over that five-year period, whereas those at the 20th percentile lost $3,481 in annual income over those...

An improving economy should offer more people a chance to climb the economic ladder to the middle class. But too many people in Wisconsin and nationwide are still being left behind, with their path to prosperity blocked by low-paying jobs, high housing costs, and lack of access to higher education, according to a new scorecard from Prosperity Now. Families of color are among those facing the most difficulty getting by, as they continue to feel the effect of generations of wealth-stripping policies targeting households and communities of color. There are some signs of improvement in the national economy, most...