A new report says Wisconsin’s middle class is under attack. Research done by Center on Wisconsin Strategy shows earnings for the less educated workers have remained stagnant in recent years with those with higher education have seen median income levels decline.
“Young college graduates’ wages currently are no higher than they were in the 1980’s,” says Laura Dresser with COWS.
Under Attack: Wisconsin’s Middle Class and the Job Crisis also states the proportion of workers in the state who lack access to health insurance through an employer increased from 15-percent in 2000 to nearly 21-percent in 2010.
Governor Scott Walker repeated during his budget signing, since the first of the year, Wisconsin gained more than 26,000 private sector jobs. Dresser says that is in-line with national trends and has little to do with Walker’s policies.
She emphasizes of the jobs the Governor does have control over, public employment positions, he has instituted policies detrimental to middle class families by scaling back unions and cutting education funding.
The report was co-published by COWS and the national policy center Demos.
AUDIO: Brian Moon reports (:59)
