MILWAUKEE _ The Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee has begun deliberations on the state budget. Notable budget proposals address funding for K-12 education and the University of Wisconsin System, as well as transportation. There are also new initiatives, notably the proposal that the state self-fund health insurance for its employees. The UWM faculty listed below can offer opinion and analysis on the fiscal, economic and political prospects of the budget process and the budget’s impact on the state. Updates to this document will appear on UWM’s news site.
The politics of state budgets
Mordecai Lee, government
mordecai@uwm.edu
414-227-3282 (office)
414-962-0270 (residence)
414-559-0271 (cell)
A professor of urban planning, Lee served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1977 to 1983 and State Senate from 1983 to 1989. He has also written articles in academic journals about his experience in the state Legislature.
Budget accounting practices
Daniel Neely, government accounting
neely@uwm.edu
414-229-4164 (office)
832-671-6358 (cell)
Neely, an associate professor of accounting, is actively researching the role of financial information in governmental and nonprofit organizations. He can speak about the use of standard accounting practices to define the state budget deficit.
The economic impact of the state budget
Scott Adams, health care, fiscal policy, education policy
sjadams@uwm.edu
414-229-4812 (office)
414-403-0347 (cell)
Adams served as a senior economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors in 2008-’09. His research interests include health and labor economics. He can comment on K-12 funding proposals and the governor’s self-insurance proposal.
Owen Thompson, health policy, education policy
thompsoo@uwm.edu
612-723-2263 (cell)
Thompson, an assistant professor of economics, researches health economics, labor economics and the economics of education. He can comment on K-12 funding proposals and the governor’s self-insurance proposal.
Health insurance
Jennifer Kibicho, health-care economics
kibicho@uwm.edu
414-229-2596 (office)
313-832-0214 (cell)
Kibicho is an assistant professor of nursing. Her research interests include the economic analyses of health-care costs, prescription drug cost drivers, cost containment policies and the cost of providing care to persons living with HIV/AIDS. She can comment on the proposal to have the state self-insure.
Transportation
James Peoples, transportation costs, health-care labor markets
peoples@uwm.edu
414-229-4482 (office)
414-759-5939 (cell)
Peoples has written extensively on the transportation sector of the U.S. economy. He is on the editorial board of Transport Policy, and has served as president of the Transportation and Public Utilities Group of the Allied Social Sciences Association, and of the National Economic Association. He can speak about costs and benefits of infrastructure investment, and the funding mechanisms available.
About UWM
Recognized as one of the nation’s 115 top research universities, UW-Milwaukee provides a world-class education to 26,000 students from 89 countries on a budget of $667 million. Its 14 schools and colleges include Wisconsin’s only schools of architecture, freshwater sciences and public health, and it is a leading educator of nurses and teachers. UW-Milwaukee partners with leading companies to conduct joint research, offer student internships and serve as an economic engine for southeastern Wisconsin. The Princeton Review named UW-Milwaukee a 2017 “Best Midwestern” university based on overall academic excellence and student reviews, as well as a top “Green College.”